I'm Still Here
by AsaHane
Summary: The only thing Riku can remember is blue. It's all he has, and all he needs, to find the person who may unlock the secrets buried in the marks on his body. AU RikuxSora, LeonxCloud, AxelxRoxas
1. Into the Devil's Sands

**Authors Notes: **Hello everyone! I am back in action with fanfiction! Isn't that wonderful?

:is booed:

Well, this isn't my first ever fic, but it _is _my first Kingdom Hearts and shounen-ai/yaoi pairing.

Alright, onto other stuff. This fic was inspired by an old old role-play idea I had waaay back when. I called it the episode role-play, because it kinda played out like anime episodes. I was just leaning back in my chair the other day, wondering if I could find an idea for a fic, and it popped right up!

I dedicate this fic to my friend Kira-chan as well, because she's the best person to go to when you have embarrassing questions. Luv ya Kira!

**WARNING: This fic contains shounen-ai, in other words boy love, slash, yaoi, malexmale bonking, whatever the hell you wanna call it. If you have a problem with that, then please turn away and find a fic more suited to your tastes. Thank you. **

Well, I'll bet you're tired of my rambling, so let's just get on with the story shall we?

**P.S: **These first few chapters are a little boring—but they're necessary for the story! It gets better later on!

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts not mine.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Into the Devils Sands_

* * *

The sun was like a sin. A horrible, evil sin that hung over the world and reigned down it's dark, evil, sin worthy-ness. It sat up there, blasting heat at the very people it kept alive, burning them to a charred crisp. It was probably laughing too. Giggling to itself, 'oh how _fun_ it is to torture these defenseless humans…' and then it would beam another one to death. 

Damn star.

Riku tripped over his own feet as this small thought crossed his mind and fell with a quiet 'fwumph' into the silky sand below. The sand scalded him through his clothes, yet he didn't want to get up. He'd run out of water that morning, and now he was so thirsty he would have given anything for just one drop. A single, tiny little crystalline drop…

He closed his eyes and licked his dry lips with a slightly moist tongue. The sun wanted him dead, didn't it? There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Not. A. Single. One. So the heat was just beating down on him in waves. Even the small winds that flushed past didn't bring much relief—just hot air.

Riku groaned and attempted to stand up, but found his limbs too shaky. He hadn't eaten in three days either… his energy was practically non-existent. With a muffled grunt his arms gave out and he flopped back into the sand, his once silky silver hair pooling around his head.

So this was it huh? He was going to die out here, in this god-forsaken wasteland of _hot_, and rot away? The little desert gerbils would pick his skin away to help the flies feed off his sizzling corpse.

No. He couldn't die yet. He wasn't ready. He still had something to do.

With an angry grunt, Riku gathered all of his strength and pushed himself up onto his knees. Tiredly he looked up and scanned the horizon for anything—anything at all that could count as civilization. His tattered brown robe—the kind that covered his entire body, leaving nothing but his head showing—was fanned out around him, and the small leather satchel that held nothing but empty bottles, munny, and some other necessaries sat innocently beside him, the strap slipping off of his shoulder.

Hmm… Cactus… cactus… rock… cactus… bush… cactus… town… cactus…

Hold on!

Riku's head nearly flew off its shoulders with the force he used to turn himself around. _A town_?

He almost thought it was an illusion, but sure enough there, shimmering a bit due to the heat, was the tall sign welcoming the weary traveler to the small town of—Riku squinted—Surbia? Well that was an odd name…

But he didn't care. There was a fucking _town_ sitting right there in front of him! Hope renewed, Riku used the last of his muscle strength to pull himself up to his feet, and slowly started sliding towards the town. However, after passing the gates, his body could no longer keep up with his movements.

His vision blurred, and the last thing he saw before passing out was a rather busty woman dropping a crate full of bottles and screaming something.

* * *

The first thing he noticed when he came to was warmth.

No, it wasn't the scalding _blistering_ heat he'd been walking in for the past week. This was a nice kind of warm. The kind of warm that came from curling up in bed after a hard days work and just resting. It felt so nice…

He shifted and pulled a furry thing closer, not really caring what it was. Whatever it was, it was warm, and that was all Riku's poor overused body cared about.

"Hey, mister? Are you awake?"

Riku winced and opened his eyes. His vision was blurry for a moment, and all he wanted to do was maim the person speaking to him. When his eyes adjusted, the first thing he saw was a pair of voluptuous breasts, sitting right in front of his eyes. Frowning, Riku tried to remember if he'd ever met anyone with such a large bosom, but his mind came up with nothing. Wearily he looked up, past the breasts and into pretty—worried—brown eyes. The woman had long, dark brown hair. On her ears a pair of earrings twinkled as she cocked her head.

Riku opened his mouth to speak, but found it full of imaginary sand. He coughed roughly, wincing as his throat burned. Urgh… he felt horrible.

Suddenly a glass was pushed to his lips. Recognizing the fluid inside as water—actual _water_! He quickly took the glass into his own shaking hands and swallowed it down. The relief that he felt was like nothing he'd ever felt before and he sighed, flopping back down from his half sitting position. The woman handed him another glass after taking the first one, and Riku took more time to drown himself in it.

He'd polished off seven glasses by the time he felt slightly rejuvenated. Well, at least he could speak now.

"Thank you," He muttered, sighing contentedly as he set his last empty glass on the coffee table between him and the busty brown-haired woman. His voice was rough and shaky—but that was probably because he hadn't used it much in about four weeks. The woman gave him a kind smile and set all of the glasses inside of each other.

"You must have been out there for quite some time." The woman said, putting the glasses on a tray and taking them over to a sink. The room they were in was just a small hovel with a couch, the coffee table, and a set of stairs. Of course there were personal items—like a bookshelf and a few shelves full of pictures, but other than that it was just a small square room. With a sink.

"I… think I was walking around for about a week before I ran out of water." Riku rubbed his eyes with a sigh.

"That's dangerous… if you'd passed out out there, you may not have been found for another day or so!" The woman set the tray on the counter beside the sink and returned to the coffee table, handing Riku a sandwich in a napkin. Riku nodded his thanks and eagerly took the food, wolfing it down. "And it looks like you haven't eaten in a while either…"

"Ran out of food a few days ago," Riku muttered around the bread in his mouth. Ahh… if felt so good to be eating again…

"What were you doing out there all alone?" The woman frowned, looking a bit disapproving. "Someone must have told you how dangerous it would be to walk this way alone…"

Riku swallowed thickly. "I was told it was dangerous, but I went alone. I can handle things, and I knew that if I passed out I'd be found… eventually."

The woman frowned again and sighed. "It was still reckless… but I'm not your guardian, so I guess it's none of my business. By the way, my names Tifa Lockhart." The woman held out her hand. It was wrapped in a leather fingerless glove, and the knuckle area looked to be padded with iron. Riku eyed those knuckles suspiciously, but took her hand with his own gloved fingers all the same.

"Riku."

The woman smiled. "That's a nice name. It means 'land' right?"

Riku blinked his aquamarine eyes and shrugged. "I never knew that names could mean things."

Tifa laughed lightly. "Of course names mean things. Just like words mean things."

"Well, I don't really remember much." Riku sucked the jelly off of his fingers, his stomach still calling for food. "I'm learning though."

Tifa blinked and frowned ever so slightly. "Don't remember…?"

"Much yeah," Riku finished off his fingers and looked longingly at the napkin, hoping that another sandwich would appear. "I guess something happened to me, and I forgot everything up until a few months ago. So, I'm looking for something that may help me remember."

Tifa blinked once again. It wasn't uncommon for people to have amnesia during these times, but forgetting most of ones life? That was a bit serious… "Is there anything you do remember?"

Riku looked at her, his eyes slightly narrowed. Suspicious? Tifa hurriedly explained herself.

"I might be able to help you find this… something."

Riku watched her for a moment longer, and Tifa found that she really liked those aquamarine eyes. If only he was a little older, she'd consider asking him out…

"Blue," The silver-haired teen muttered. "I remember that whatever it was, was blue. It could be a place, a thing, a piece of paper—but all I know is that it's blue."

Tifa's brow furrowed and she shifted her position. "There are a lot of blue things you know…"

"Not this blue," Riku said firmly. His eyes seemed to focus on something that she couldn't see. "It's not a normal blue… and I think it was the only kind of blue in the world."

"Well, that narrows it down…" Tifa muttered sarcastically, but sighed and took the napkin Riku was still clutching. "For now you should rest. Drink plenty of water."

Riku really didn't mind that. "Do you have any more food?"

Tifa blinked at him and chuckled. "Well, come upstairs and I'll have Cid cook you something."

"Cid?" Riku asked, attempting to stand up. He still felt a little weak, but the sandwich and the water had brought _something_ back. He followed her slowly as she started walking up the stairs, the thought of food making his stomach rumble for more.

"He's a pretty good cook. I guess you could say it's his day job… after he comes here he operates his own business."

Was it just him or was the air getting warmer? Riku shook it off and stepped out of the stairwell (which was a bit tunnel-like after he passed the roof of the little hovel below) and entered heat once again. Outside the sun blinded him, but it wasn't as unbearably hot as it had been before he'd passed out. Once his eyes adjusted to the light change, he took a good look at his surroundings.

He was under a canopied room—a bar? To his right was a tall counter with bottles and other alcohol related machines. Past the bar he could see the town. People were walking through the street and talking as people often did. All of them wore thick robes to protect from the sunlight, as well as bandannas or hats to protect their heads. The buildings were made of a pale colored stone, and the sky was as blue and clear as a sky could get.

Tifa walked over to a back door and pushed it open. It had no handle, and it swung in easily with her weight against it. She motioned for Riku to follow, and he obliged, tearing his eyes away from the scenery.

"Hey Cid." Tifa waved. Riku looked at the rather bulky man standing behind a grill. He turned his blonde head around and acknowledged Tifa with a grunt. A bit of stubble marred his chin, and he wasn't large, he just had large muscles. In his mouth was a toothpick which he chewed thoughtlessly. Riku wondered if it took the place of a cigarette, since one usually didn't smoke when cooking food for other people.

"Hey Tifa." He grunted, blue eyes sliding towards Riku. He flipped a few beef patties with his spatula, not even bothering to look at his work. "That the kid?"

"Yup." The brown haired girl answered, trailing further into the kitchen. There was a metal island table cluttered with knives and containers—above that a rack bursting with pots and pans. Other than the grill was a deep-fryer and a sink set along the walls with metal counters, and further back sat a large, rather thick looking metal door that read 'Freezer'. Riku took all of this in with a glance, and then looked back at Cid.

"Hn." The blonde man huffed, pressing the patties into the grill with the flat of his metal instrument. Riku's eyes were brought to it, and his mouth started salivating. When was the last time he'd had cooked meat like that?

He was _so_ hungry…

"Hey, those aren't for anything special are they?" Tifa asked, returning to Riku's side with a bag of hamburger buns. Cid looked at her and shrugged.

"Not yet at least."

"Mind sacrificing one for the poor kid? He hasn't eaten in a while."

"If he pays for it."

Riku's mind was dragged away from the sizzling meat and back to Cid. "I have munny."

"Alrighty then. A hundred munny each." Cid flicked his nose slightly as he flipped the patties one last time.

Riku patted himself down and cursed. "It's in my bag…"

"I'll get it for you," Tifa offered, setting the bag of buns down beside Cid. "Just tell him what you want on it." And she disappeared. Riku walked up next to Cid and eyed the patties.

"So how many ya want kid?" The blonde asked, eyeing him. Riku looked up at him, and then back at the hamburgers. The scent of the sizzling meat made his stomach rumble again.

"Three." He said. Cid raised an eyebrow. "I haven't eaten in a while…" Well, it wasn't a complete lie. That sandwich was nothing…

"Alright, yer money." Cid pulled the burgers off the grill and set them all on a plate beside it. He prepared three burgers for Riku—filled with every condiment the place offered—and once Riku had his food, he wolfed it down like a starving animal. Tifa came up just as he was polishing off the second one.

"Geez Riku you should slow down. You might start choking on it."

Riku didn't acknowledge he'd heard her, but he finished the final burger a bit slower than the last two, savoring it as much as he could. Tifa set his bag down beside him and he fished through his things, pulling out a small leather wallet. He counted out three-hundred, and then handed it to Tifa, who took it to the cash register out in the bar.

Food gone, Riku felt quite content.

Cid sat down on the edge of the island counter, looking positively bored. "This place only gets busy during the evening before closin' time."

Riku looked at him. "Well, maybe people like to go out more at night?"

"Yeah, cause it's not hot then." The blonde grunted, twitching the toothpick around. Riku was leaning against the counter near the grill, which Cid had turned off.

"It _is_ in the middle of a desert…"

"No, _really_?" Cid rolled his eyes and Riku frowned. "I oughta get back to my shop… that damn Leon's proll'y testin' my equipment again…"

"Leon?" Riku asked. The blonde cook shrugged.

"My assistant I guess you can call 'em. Wandered in here lookin' for a place to say. I said he could stay at my place if he agreed to help me with my business. He's been here about a year and a half now… coldest bastard I ever saw, but he gets the job done. Well at that." Cid snorted. "I don't ask about a guys past, but I'd say he was runnin' from somethin'. Or someone. Ya never know with these silent types."

Riku frowned. Why did that name sound oddly familiar? He brushed it from his mind after a moment. There were probably other Leon's he'd met when he'd been in the city. It wasn't a very _rare_ name.

"Heh, you'n him would probably get along well, what with yer attitudes." Cid chuckled. Riku looked at him and frowned. "You don't like to talk much do you?"

Riku blinked. People used to tell him to shut up because he talked _too much_ before. Well, most of what he'd said had been questions or inquiries, but those were around people who knew about him. Here, Riku didn't feel comfortable asking about the things he didn't recognize. For one, it would probably annoy Cid, and for another, it would make him look like an idiot, and no one would understand unless they _knew_ about him.

So he refrained from speaking.

Cid just chuckled and looked out the small window above the stove. It was open, and a light hot breeze blew in, ruffling his hair. Riku shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. Tifa was digging in a cupboard in the back, and when she emerged, she walked over to the two men, setting a couple of cans down in front of them.

"I hope you like soda Riku." She smiled, brushing some hair behind her ear. Riku noticed she did that a lot.

"Thanks," He muttered, popping open the can and taking a swig.

"When you finish that, why don't you go lie down? A nice refreshing nap should tide you over in no time. If you want, you can pay Cid to take you to the next city on the Rover." Tifa suggested. Riku looked up at her and nodded. Perfect.

"How much?" he asked, turning to Cid. The blonde shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, we'll figure it out. You look like the trustworthy type, so I'll let ya pay me when we get there. We'll put it on how much trouble you cause me." The blonde gave a smirk, and Riku smiled. These people really _were_ nice…

After a few more moments of light conversation, Riku noticed that the light was diminishing. He looked out the window as he sipped his soda and saw the shadows beginning to grow in the street. When he finished the can, Tifa took it and told him to go downstairs to rest. She said he could have the couch, since she had a bed. He didn't know where the bed was, but figured he'd probably overlooked it when he woke up.

After grabbing his bag and slipping it over his shoulder, Riku pushed open the swinging door and stepped back behind the bar. As he made his way over to the stairs that led to Tifa's lodge, he paused and looked over towards the counter. With a shrug he padded over, resting his hands on the countertop so he could look out at the sun.

If there was one good thing about that evil star, it was it's beauty during sunset. Sunrise was nice, but he liked the sunset better—the bringer of night, of adventure, promise of another day. Well, that was an optimist's view, but Riku didn't really care. It was pretty, and beauty needed no meaning.

There were clouds now, blown in sometime during his conversation (if you could call it that…). The sun turning the white, hazy masses amazing shades of gold and yellow and orange, and with the heat shimmering on the horizon, it made it all the more mesmerizing.

"_It's beautiful, isn't it Riku?"_

_Riku's eyes were glazed, but he looked up at his name, and then turned toward the glass. The long white shirt he wore shifted as he stepped closer to the floor-to-ceiling window. He pressed his hands gingerly to the coolness, and looked out at the glowing, fiery horizon._

"_It's called a sunset."_

Riku closed his eyes. That was the oldest memory he had. A sunset. How fitting…

"Riku?"

Riku blinked and turned to Tifa. A smile pulled his lips up. "You have beautiful sunsets here." Was all he said, before turning and descending the stairs, leaving Tifa standing at the swinging door with a puzzled expression.

* * *


	2. Weapons Speacialist

**Authors Notes: **Next chapter! So soon you ask? Well I posted the first chapter after getting about half of this one done, so yay! Leon appears in this one. Hmm, implied pairing? Maybe.

You'll just have to wait and see. Maybe next AN I'll let that slip, but for now you can wonder. Wonderings always the most fun. I love writing Leon… he'd kinda interesting/funny to write. Well… until you get to the serious parts, heheh.

The duck thingy in this chapter—it's real. It lives on the next street over, and it does exactly what it does here as I wait for my bus to arrive in the morning. Scary ne?

Actually, he's kinda cute…

**Disclaimer: **I own a paupu fruit plushy, and I sleep with it every night. I don't own Kingdom Hearts however, no matter how much I mess with the characters in this little concoction here.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Weapons Specialist_

* * *

_Kerthunk_

"This is a new model, Magnum P-54S303, version six. Only used once or twice, but it was partially blown up, so we repaired it and now it's good as new.". A slightly tanned hand came up from behind the counter, holding a large, football sized bullet. "It can fire three of these within five seconds, and the damage can be quite substantial. Observe."

The tall, stoic, brown-haired man flicked open the bullet port on the back of the gun and slid the bullet inside. He closed it and locked it, then hefted it up onto his shoulder and aimed it at a false wall behind him, all without a single change in expression. He pulled the trigger, and with a loud _BAM_, the gun cut loose.

Once the dust cleared, there was nothing of the wall left—not even a single marble sized rock.

Despite himself, Riku's mouth fell open slightly. He'd never _seen_ guns that capable of blowing things up.

"Of course, we offer the cheapest of prices one could get on this type of machinery. However, we don't sell to just _anyone_…" The brown haired man slammed the gun back down on the counter. He looked relatively bored.

"Uh… well, I'm just here to see Cid…" The silver-haired teen mumbled. He'd stayed the night at Tifa's, and he'd been directed to Cid's shop after a few hours of mindless boredom at the bar. Tifa told him that all the residences in this town were underground—as well as the stores and shops—because it was much easier to control the temperature. This shop was underground as well, and Riku had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea to build things underground like this when you lived in the desert.

Raising a brow, the brunette hefted the gun over to the rack where he'd pulled it off. As soon as Riku had stepped inside, this odd man had turned around and pulled it off, obviously expecting a customer. _If I was a customer, I'd be impressed… _But Riku needed not a gun. No matter how much he _wanted_ one.

"This way." The stoic man said. He rounded the counter and walked towards the back, where a large, metal door concealed the "Employee's Only" area. "You Riku?"

"Yeah…" The teen muttered, following quickly. _This must be that Leon guy… he kinda fits the description._ Stoic. Cold. Emotionless. Quiet. Yup, that must be right.

"Mm." Leon pushed the door open, and didn't wait for Riku as he passed through. He led the teen into a dim storage room that smelled of grease and machinery. There were five rows of tables, all packed with mechanical parts and dangerous looking tools. Further in the back the room opened up into what seemed to be a huge airplane hanger, but it was so dark that Riku couldn't see anything. A form sat near that open area, huddled over a work table and wearing a helmet. Sparks sizzled in front of him, sharp cracking noises cutting the air. Leon led Riku over.

When Leon stopped, Riku leaned over to see what Cid was doing. His torch sparked, and Riku was promptly blinded. He let out a curse and rubbed his eyes, trying to brush bright spots swimming in his gaze away.

Cid stopped his work and looked over, pushing his helmet up with a thickly gloved hand. "That you Leon? Oh Riku too?" He smirked as he noticed Riku kneading his eyeballs. "Next time don't look at the fire when'm welding. It's known to cause blindness."

Riku grumbled something, pretending to know what welding actually was. Cid set his torch down on the table and kicked the machine, hitting the power button. "I s'pose you came to get that ride?" Riku nodded. "Well, I can't get to it today. I have a commission due this week, and if I don't finish this piece by tonight I'll be behind. I can take you tomorrow for sure though, that is if ya don't mind it bein' after noon."

Riku sighed, but nodded in understanding. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible and get to the next town or city, but delays were a part of life. Besides, he wasn't really in a hurry.

"Is there an inn in the town? I don't want to steal Tifa's house any longer than necessary. The munny's no problem either, 'cause I have plenty." Riku looked up at Cid. Leon was just standing to the side, zoning at the furthest wall.

"Well, there's a run-down inn on the other side of town. I can have Leon show you where it is once I'm done here. He can't take you now 'cause someone's got to watch the desk. Hey, maybe you could get over and help us get things done?" Cid smirked. Riku frowned and opened his mouth to decline, but stopped. What else was he going to do? Tifa would be twiddling her thumbs at the bar all day, and he'd already offered to help her with things, but she'd organized everything in boredom. Besides, being in the sun all day didn't really entertain him either. He still had a bit of sunburn on his face, and it stung…

"Alright… as long as it isn't anything too dangerous."

Cid grinned. "Don't worry. You can help Leon grease the pistons on my old Highwind. Sierra's just finishin' off, all I need is a few more good propellers."

Leon's body gave a strong twitch, startling Riku. What was that all about?

"What's Highwind?" Riku asked. He hoped it didn't sound stupid.

Cid suddenly broke into a huge grin. There was a skip in his step as he walked over to a control board on the wall and flicked a few switches. Light poured into the dark hanger, and what Riku saw made his jaw hit the floor.

Sitting there were two of the biggest airships he had ever seen. The first one looked older than the second, and they were both facing at an angle away from each other. The older one was kept upright by metal holding poles. Two propellers were situated above, and there were three behind the observation deck. It looked a bit like a bullet with wings.

The one next to it was obviously more polished and new. As Cid had said, there were a few propellers missing, but that didn't mean the ship wasn't gorgeous. This one looked a bit like a sea-monster. It was a bit more intimidating than the sedate, older one beside it.

"That's my Highwind. Built her myself, save for parts of the engine. She's old, but she works just as good as ever. Her sister there is Sierra. I designed her and built her as well, and as you can see, she's not done yet. But boy, she'll be gorgeous up there in the sky." Cid looked very proud of these two airships.

"You _built_ these?" He asked, staring in awe. Cid grinned.

"Well, I had a bit of help, but essentially yeah. These are my babies."

Riku took a moment to compose himself. Even then, he still looked a little surprised. "Well, we're greasing Highwind?"

Cid nodded. "Yup. Her pistons are runnin' dry, and I haven't had time to get up there and do it myself. It's a two man job, and I've been so busy working that I haven't been able to give Leon a hand. So, now you two can just grease her up."

* * *

When Riku understood the meaning of "grease her up", he regretted ever agreeing to help Cid. 

He nearly slipped off of his metal rod as he reached for the brush he'd dropped. The pistons were about as tall as he was, and grease was something he never, ever wanted to work with. But alas, the black, gooey substance was now caked all over his body and his beautiful silver hair. He cursed and wiggled a little to get closer to the brush, and then he grabbed it and heaved himself back.

There were four pistons for each side of the motor, all of them sticking up in a locked position that Cid had done previously. After removing his gloves and shoving them in his pocket (without Leon noticing) Riku had finished two of his human-sized metal rods, and was working on the third one. He had a large bucket of grease that he and Leon were sharing, so he had to go back and forth whenever his brush needed a refill.

After the first piston was done, Riku didn't really care about getting dirty anymore; mostly because he had grease slicked all up his front when he'd leaned against the piston to reach the top. He started greasing up his hands as well as his brush and just rubbing the huge metal rods down.

He understood now why Leon had twitched.

It didn't take him too long to finish off his pistons, and once they were thoroughly greased, he walked back to the bucket and looked to see how Leon was doing.

The stoic brunette was working on his final piston, and when Riku poked his head around, he frowned. Leon wasn't as messy as Riku, but he had gotten dirty. His front too was soiled, and there were a few marks on his face. He'd started using his hands as well, because they too were covered in grease.

"I'll never agree to 'grease her up', ever again." Riku mumbled, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair. Leon grunted and finished off the metal rod.

"Good. Then I won't either."

Riku blinked. That was the most Leon had ever said to him alone, without a gun in hand. "Hm…"

Leon sighed and looked at his sludge covered hands, a little annoyed. Riku frowned and looked at his own hands too.

"…I take it this stuff isn't gonna come out easily…"

"…"

"Though so…"

Riku almost whimpered as he wiggled his fingers. Grease felt so _wrong_ when it slicked between the digits. The scent was thick and slightly metallic, but that could just be the ten ton motor sitting beside them.

"Uh… I don't suppose Cid has a place to clean this stuff off does he?"

Leon grunted and turned around suddenly, tossing his brush into the grease bucket. Riku frowned but mimed his actions, and Leon hefted the bucket up and started climbing down the stairs and out of the engine chamber. Riku followed him slowly, wondering what Mr. Ice had planned. As they walked back towards the room with the tables, Leon set the bucket down and strolled to a door near Sierra. Riku followed him inside and frowned. It was a bathing hall…

Riku froze and paled, his hand flying up to tighten the neck of his cloak. He was going to shower with Leon?

No. Way.

"Uh… you don't have private stalls? And what the hell is a shower hall doing in this place?"

Leon turned and gave Riku a strange look. His eyes moved up and down Riku's body, and a small smirk curled his lips.

"Modest?"

Riku's cheeks flamed despite himself. "N-no! It's… well…" He couldn't tell Leon why. No one would ever wrestle him out of these clothes.

"Cid bought this place from the military. It used to be a rest station."

Glad that the subject was changed, Riku looked up. "Is he rich or something?"

Leon shrugged and removed his shirt. Riku realized that he didn't have a change of clothes either. Dammit! Why hadn't he thought about the consequences before he'd gone and slopped crap all over himself?

"I don't have any clothes." Riku muttered, hoping that would settle the issue. Leon looked at him over his shoulder as he loosed the belts on his pants. The silver haired teen turned away and mumbled something under his breath.

"I have clothes upstairs. You can use them."

Shit.

Riku was getting a little nervous now. "I can just take a shower later." _Alone_.

"That stuff will be even harder to remove if it just sits there." The brunette said lightly, carefully taking off his pants and folding them along with his shirt. Riku was relieved to see that he was wearing boxers. Not that Leon wasn't nice looking. On the contrary, he was _gorgeous_. Riku forced his gaze away from Leon's taught backside as he pulled the boxers down and focused on a spot of mold on the wall.

_Don't blush Riku. He's got nothing you don't have. He and you are the same._

"Besides, that cloak of yours looks a little more than dirty."

Riku turned and opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself short with a highly undignified squeak.

Apparently Leon _did_ have a little more of something than Riku had.

Despite his chant of _don'tblusdon'tblushdon'tblush_, Riku's body betrayed him and his entire face burned. He twisted his body away and tried to rub the redness away.

Screw the backside (though Riku suddenly found, with a bit of utter horror, that he wouldn't mind doing that).

Shit. He didn't know he was gay.

Oooh crap. When had that surfaced?

"Riku?" Leon's eyebrow lifted. Riku flinched heavily and waddled towards the door.

"I'll get in when you're done." He spat, pushing the door open with a little more force than necessary. A smirk curled Leon's lips.

"Modest."

"Am. Not!" _SLAM!_

Later, after brushing away the majority of the sludge caked on his body with a dirty rag he'd found buried in the tools, Riku sat watching Cid 'weld' with his torch. It was rather interesting when the flame wasn't burning the retinas out of his eyes. The metal was red hot, and it was pliable to the touch, but after a few moments it cooled and hardened in whatever shape it had been twisted into. Leon had been in the shower for about half an hour now, and Riku dreaded how long it would take _him_ to clear the grease away. Leon had said it got harder to wash off after staying there…

Riku sighed and wiggled uncomfortably. His body felt stiff, and he smelled like machinery.

Something suddenly came flying at him and Riku caught it on reflex. He blinked down at his hand. A long sleeved shirt and some jeans.

"I have a feeling you're hiding something." Leon's voice muttered quietly as he toweled his hair dry. He was now wearing a dark blue tee-shirt and some jeans. Riku's expression darkened as Leon placed his cool, smoky blue colored gaze on him.

_That_ was a nice shade of blue. But it wasn't _Riku's_ blue.

"I didn't see you go past," Riku admitted, ignoring his comment and carefully holding the clean clothes away from his dirty body. Leon shrugged.

"Went upstairs with the back door."

"Oh…" Riku blinked and slid off the table he'd perched himself on. Leon leveled his cool gaze on the silver haired boy.

"After you wash up I'll take you to the Inn." He muttered, pulling the towel out of his shoulder length auburn hair. Riku gulped and peeled his eyes off of Leon's body.

"Okay."

And off he went.

* * *

Riku would grudgingly admit to himself that, yes, it was kind of nerve wracking when half of the things that surrounded him had no name or picture in his mind. He didn't know what welding was, nor grease or pistons, and now that he did know he felt just a _little_ bit better. However, _animals_ that he didn't recognize… 

Well, that was something else entirely.

Leon had been leading him down the road. It was about mid-noon, and there were quite a few people milling about in the market area, full of people selling animals like chickens and dogs and cats, and food, like fruits and vegetables. He'd just been following the brunette quietly, curiously looking at all the things that he couldn't name and wondering what they were, when _it_ appeared.

_It_ was… well… Riku really didn't know what it was. It looked like a duck, but it wasn't a duck. It had a red crest over it's head, and it was black. It's feet were webbed. When it spotted him, it suddenly started growling; _growling _as it walked towards him, it's strange tail whipping back and forth.

Riku had frozen in the spot and stood there, staring at it with barely suppressed shock. It came closer, growling some more, and Riku stepped away, unnerved.

"What are you doing?"

The silver-haired teen nearly had a heart attack. He froze and whipped around, staring at Leon. "N-nothing!"

Leon's gaze turned to the growling thing and his eyebrow lifted. "Are you afraid of it?"

"No!" Riku growled, sending a death glare towards the 'thing'. It was now growling and waddling it's way towards Leon. The brunette took his eyes off of it and looked at Riku again.

"Never seen a chicken-duck hybrid?"

So that's what it was? Riku grumbled something and stomped forward. Leon rolled his eyes and followed. Once they were through most of the crowds, Leon once again took the lead. They soon came upon a four story building—second biggest besides what Leon said was the main import building. They went inside and Riku rented a room. Leon, since the clerk knew him, was sent to lead Riku upstairs. There was no elevator, Riku realized, but with only four stories they didn't really need one.

They reached his floor, the third one, and Leon led him to the last door in the hall. At the end of the hall was a floor-to-ceiling window with drapes feathering the edges. Riku looked out at the city and found himself caught in the beauty. The town wasn't really all that big, but further out he could see the golden expanse of the desert. There were huge rock ridges spanning as far at the eye could see, and he wondered mildly if it was possible to see the glow of the city he'd left behind from here at night. He'd have to take a look later…

Leon opened the door and Riku turned around to enter the room behind him. He looked around once he was inside. It was small, but tasteful and clean. There was a window across from him, a small couch with a coffee table to his left, and a tiny little kitchen to the right. Past the couch and beside the TV was the door leading to the bedroom, and probably the bathroom inside.

Before Riku could say anything, the door clicked shut behind him and locked. His eyes widened and he spun around, but he wasn't fast enough. Leon grabbed him and twisted around, slamming him against the door. Riku gasped at the impact, but narrowed his eyes into a glare. Leon's cool glare met his and they clashed dangerously. A snarl curled Riku's lips as he struggled against Leon, who was by far much bigger and stronger—in brute strength—then Riku.

"The hell?" He spat, trying in vein to move his legs, which were trapped hard against the door by Leon's thighs.

"Who are you?" The brunette hissed, pressing Riku harder into the door. The silver haired boy froze.

"No one," He growled hastily. This wasn't good…

Suddenly, Leon's free hand came up and he yanked the front of Riku's shirt down past his shoulder, removing the scarf that the silver-haired boy had wrapped around his neck after the shower. Riku froze, and Leon's eyes widened.

"Oh my god…"

* * *


	3. Secrets We Tell

**Authors Notes: **Yaaay, chapter 3 is complete! I kinda got a bit of writers bock near the end of this one, lol. I just had trouble with the last scene, so if it sucks I'm sorry… my muse died for a moment.

I'll do some more notes at the bottom, so for now go ahead and enjoy the story!

**Disclaimer:** TokyoPop owns the Kingdom Hearts manga. Square and Disney own the game. I own a poster. Ooooh.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_Secrets We Tell_

* * *

"Oh my god…" 

Riku managed to wiggle one of his legs free and lift it up, pushing Leon away as best he could. The brunette let him go, stepping back. His expression didn't change, but Riku could see fear in his eyes. The silver-haired teen glared, balling his fists as the scarf slipped from his shoulders and fell away.

On his neck, and trailing down into his shirt, were scarred markings. Three bands of black wound around his neck, and a small, digital number was burned into the area of his jugular vein. The scars over his body were cut in patters and designs—not just random slits and bruises.

"Happy now, you bastard?" Riku snarled. Leon composed himself and narrowed his eyes.

"I've seen you before."

Riku's body froze. "What?"

"At the Burough. Almost two years ago."

Riku stared at him. Burough …? He'd seen him at the Burough? What the hell was that? "Burough …?" He asked, eyeing the brunette. Leon's eyes widened a fraction and he straightened.

"You don't remember…"

Riku's eyes narrowed into a glare again and he stepped away from the door, just in case Leon tried to attack him again. "Remember what?" He spat. Leon watched him, and then looked away. He seemed… guilty? Riku stared at him suspiciously.

"Take your clothes off."

"What!" Riku's eyebrows snapped up and he stumbled backwards. Leon glared at him and shoved one of his hands into his pocket.

"Just take your shirt off then." He snapped. Riku roughly shook his head.

"Hell no! You just tackled me to the door, and now you want me to take my shirt off?"

Leon scowled and stomped forward. "I want to see what they did."

Riku was having none of it. "Nu-uh, you can see my neck clearly enough. It's all the same—" He was cut off as Leon yanked the shirt up, revealing Riku's pale stomach and chest. He spluttered and tried to back away, but Leon had a firm grip on his arm. No matter how much he struggled the brunette refused to release him. "Y-you bastard!" He growled.

Leon's eyes scanned Riku's chest and stomach. He pulled the shirt off completely and let it hang on one arm as he studied the markings. There were loops and swirls, all of them old scars. None of them were fading however—they just left healthy, darker colored lines all over Riku's body.

"It must have hurt…" He muttered. Riku stopped struggling at those words and eyed the brunette.

"I wouldn't know. I don't know where they came from."

Leon's eyes caught Riku's. "How can you not know?"

Riku growled and yanked his arm back, tugging the shirt back on once Leon let him go. Well, the cat was out of the bag now… "I don't remember anything about myself. All I remember is that I woke up in my uncle's office room eight months ago. I've forgotten everything, except how to speak. Words were ingrained, but nothing else." Riku looked sulkily at anything but Leon. He hadn't really wanted anyone to find out about him. It wasn't like it was a big secret—it was more embarrassing really. He would rather have no one asking him questions…

"Anything?" The stoic Leon asked. Riku scowled and shook his head.

"I left my uncle's office last month. The only thing I actually _can_ remember is a color—and I know that it means something important to me." The silver-haired teen settled his gaze on the window as he spoke. "He gave me munny so that I could search for it… he and the staff there helped me recognize things, like tables and desks…"

"You forgot that much?" Leon blinked. Riku huffed.

"I'm working on it…"

Silence. Leon stood watching Riku, his eyes calculating. Riku eyed him and shifted uncomfortably. Leon seemed to be warring over something with himself, or that's what it looked like. After about ten minutes of standing and staring, Leon finally moved—he turned his head towards the window.

"I'm going with you."

Riku balked. "What!"

Leon's gaze was steely. "I said I'm going with you."

"Like hell you are!" Riku growled, his fists balling up again. "I'm in this alone!"

The brunette's brow lowered in a scowl. "I'm going with you."

And so the argument continued like that for the next hour. Riku tried everything he could think of to get Leon to back down, but the brunette was far too stubborn. It was like trying to move a stubborn horse out of a cool stream on a hot day. It just wasn't happening.

Finally Riku snarled and threw up his hands. "_Fine_! Whatever! I don't _care _anymore!" He growled and gave Leon's smirk a nasty hand gesture. "I'm going to bed!"

"It's four in the afternoon."

"Fuck you!" _SLAM!_

_

* * *

_Two hours later, Riku finally emerged from the room. His hair had been washed again, and he finally felt less grungy. For some reason the soap in the shower hall hadn't worked very well and smelled vaguely like dirt. It left him still feeling greasy. Thankfully the Inn had a small set of shower supplies hidden in the bathroom, even if they smelled a little girly. It was better than dirt.

Cautiously Riku cast his green gaze around the room and sighed in relief. Leon was gone. He pushed the door open all the way and walked into the room, running the knots out of his silver hair with his fingers.

After a few moments of inspecting everything in the room, Riku's eyes landed on a telephone. He blinked and walked into the kitchen, eyeing it for a moment.

Well, his uncle had wanted him to call once he found civilization…

With a sigh he picked up the phone and started dialing the number that his uncle made him memorize. He put the phone to his ear and waited.

"_You are making a call outside of the Inn. It will be charged a small fee—"_

"Whatever," Riku mumbled and punched the number one. That usually worked.

"_Thank you. Your call is being transferred."_

Riku tapped his fingers on the small counter and rolled his eyes as the phone rang. How annoying operators are…

_Click. "If you're another groupie, I'm going to sue you. I swear. I'm going to kill Loz for leaving this number at the desk—"_

"Kadaj," Riku drawled. Oh great. The voice froze.

"_Riku? Well well, look who decided to drop a line."_ Kadaj said sarcastically. _"You loose an arm already?"_

"Let me talk to my uncle." Riku scowled. Kadaj was a stand-in secretary when Yazoo wasn't around, which happened a lot. Kadaj spent his time prank calling, knowing that the company wouldn't be charged for anything because the line was secure.

"_Can't do that. He's in a meeting. Something about anti-war missiles…" _

Riku's fists clenched. "Well can you—"

"_Probably not. So, what do you have to say to dear old Kadaj?"_ The voice cooed. _"Did you find out that you were gay yet?" _

Riku's face flamed. "How the hell did you know that?"

Kadaj cackled_. "Hell, I knew you before you forgot everything Riku. I've known you were gay since you were in middle school." _

Riku growled and ground his teeth together. Yes, Kadaj had known him since kindergarten, but that didn't mean he was going to tell Riku anything about himself. The stand-in secretary had only met Riku personally once before he'd lost his memories, but refused to tell the silver haired teen anything else, no matter how much Riku had threatened him.

"_So who tried to kiss you?" _

Riku opened his mouth to shout something very vulgar, but another voice on the other line stopped him.

"_Kadaj you bastard! Who the hell let you have that phone?" _

Riku smirked. Did he mention that Kadaj was a _self-appointed_ stand-in secretary?

"_Get the fuck out of my chair or I'll pour this coffee down the front of your pants!" _

"_You can't do that! They're custom made and leather you asshole!" _

"_Kadaj! I'm going to count to five!" _

"_But Riku's on the phone!" _

"_What!" _

There was a sudden scuffle with muffled curses and insults, ending with a rather agonized wail and Yazoo's light voice.

"_Riku?" _

"_You're going to fucking buy me a new pair of pants Yazoo!" _

"Hello." Riku smirked. He'd always liked talking to Yazoo more than Kadaj—because Yazoo was a bit more civilized and less sarcastic.

"_So who drugged you and made you call?" _

… Well… _sometimes_ less sarcastic.

"I wanted to talk to my uncle." Riku sighed, kneading the bridge of his nose. He regretted ever calling now.

"_He's in a meeting, but I'll tell him you called. Anything you wanted to pass on?" _

Ahh… Yazoo was so much easier to talk to… "Yeah. Tell him I'm in some desert town and I'm leaving for the next one tomorrow. Oh, and ask him if he knows any Leon's. Like, tall emotionless stoic Leon's."

"_Uh… right. Anything else?" _

"That was about it." Riku sighed. "Bye."

"_Alright, see ya." Click. _

Riku pressed the "end call" button and hung the phone up with a sigh. He scratched his head and walked back towards the room. Well, if there was nothing else to do, he could at least sleep.

Riku pulled off his shirt and flopped into bed, curling around a pillow. The room was a lot hotter than the residences underground, but it was air-conditioned, so it wasn't too bad. It was only a matter of minutes, and soon Riku felt his eyes drooping and his mind drifting.

* * *

_There was the blue again. Emanating from it was warmth and a comfort that Riku couldn't remember ever calling his own. Had he felt that warmth before? He didn't know… but he wanted it back, if it had been his at one point. _

"_Riku, those were mine!" _

_The voice held nothing but idle words. It was a lot like his dreams before he re-learned most of the usual every day things. Just words… no voice. But the words were familiar, full of meaning. They were the conductors that transferred the warmth to him. _

"_Let's go outside." _

"_I'll race you Riku!" _

"_C'mon! Don't think you can win?" _

"_That's cheating Riku!" _

"_Hahaha! Stop it, you're killing me!" _

"_What's wrong Riku…?" _

"_Are you hurt?" _

"_Riku what's wrong?" _

"_Riku…?" _

"_Riku?" _

"_RIKU!" _

"**RIKU!**"

"Wha!" Riku flung himself up and around, and then let out a pained yelp as he slipped off the side of his bed with a mild _thump_. He cursed and dug himself out of the blankets, glaring heatedly at the person responsible for his rude awakening.

Leon scowled. "I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes." He said, then turned and left the room. Riku growled and stuck his tongue out at him rather childishly, wrapping the blanket around him in a cocoon as he followed Leon out into the living room.

The clock on the wall read five o'clock. In the morning.

"Why'd you wake me up so early?" Riku growled, glaring at Leon as he burrowed into his blanket some more. Leon was moving around the kitchen, capping bottles and stuffing them into a duffel bag. Riku's eyes narrowed. "Cid said he couldn't take me until after noon…"

"I found a quicker way," Leon said as he zipped up the duffel back. He bent down and grabbed something, then tossed it to Riku. The silver-haired teen fumbled but caught it awkwardly. It was his own worn leather bag. It was decidedly heavier, and when he opened the flap he found that all of his water bottles had been refilled. A few pairs of cloths were stuffed in around a couple of paper bags that contained food.

"You did this?" Riku asked, blinking stupidly. Leon didn't say anything as he looked over the kitchen, probably making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Riku scowled and turned back to the room to change his clothes and get rid of the blanket. His stomach rumbled as he was pulling his shirt on, and he placed his hand over it with a scowl. He hadn't eaten much yesterday…

When he came back out—wearing a tight black turtle-neck undershirt and a long-sleeved vest with a pair of dark blue pants; his gloves on as well—Leon handed him a bag of dried apples. Riku blinked at it but accepted it with a grunt. Leon hefted his bag up and turned towards the door, Riku following closely behind him.

Well, Leon certainly didn't procrastinate…

After checking out, Riku fell in step behind the stoic brunette and ran his fingers through his hair irritably. He hadn't thought of brushing it out since his shower yesterday…

Leon led him through about half of the town. The animals in the market area shifted but barely made any noise as they passed by, and no people were on the street. When Riku thought that they were just going to walk off into the desert, Leon turned and entered the gates of what looked to be a ranch. Riku looked at the gates with a slightly apprehensive look.

Leon led him down a dirt pathway towards a building that made Riku think of cows. The teen upped his pace so that he fell in step behind Leon and looked around. The brunette stopped at the doors and undid the padlock—or rather; he picked the lock with a small curled metal stick thing that might have once been a paperclip.

When a tiny click echoed around the two of them, Leon unwound the chain and pulled open the left door, not bothering to wait for Riku as he slipped inside. Riku was a little stunned—they were going to steal something…?

That just… didn't sit very well with him. He hadn't wanted to start stealing means of transportation… Riku frowned in the darkness, pretending he knew where Leon was as he spoke. "We're not stealing something are we?"

"You're paying for it. Just leave the munny where I tell you."

Riku blinked at the inky blackness. Well, that wasn't too bad.

Suddenly light flooded Riku's eyes. He hissed and squeezed them shut, holding an arm over his eyes. Then there was sound. Strange, nervous whistles met his ears and he peeled his eyes open to look around. On either side of him, in stalls, were huge, feathered, yellow birds.

Riku looked at them all apprehensively. "What the hell are these things?"

"Chocobo's." Leon grunted, opening one of the doors to the little boxes one the birds stood in. "They're almost as good as Rovers, sometimes better." He slipped a rope around the chocobo's neck and led it out of the box, tying it to a pole that jutted up from the middle of the concrete isle. The bird was taller than he was, and it looked around curiously. "We're taking this one, since we can both fit on it."

Riku walked up to it and tilted his head back to see its face. It looked down at him, cocking its head to the side.

"Waaark."

Riku blinked at it. "Okay…" He froze as the bird bent its neck over and tapped his head with its beak. "Ow!"

Leon smirked as he threw a saddle over its back. "That means it likes you."

Riku backed away from the bird and glared at it, rubbing the small lump on his head. That thing had a hard beak… "Whatever…"

The silver-haired teen decided to just sit back and watch as Leon continued to tack the bird. Once the bridle and the saddle were secured, he went back into the small room that he'd gotten them from and brought out two saddle-bags. He tied them onto the saddle and put both of their bags inside. Riku frowned when he returned to the room once again and came out with even _more_ things.

Now he had some blankets, lanterns, flares, oil, matches, and more water. He divided these between the saddle-bags and then clicked them closed.

"You certainly know how to pack…" Riku grunted, eyeing Leon as he tapped the base of the chocobo's neck. It knelt down with a gentle croon, and Leon slipped into the saddle. He moved forward and looked at Riku.

"Put about five-thousand munny in the feed bag," he pointed to the small bag in the chocobo's vacated box. Already there was a note. "Then get on."

Riku scowled and wrote out the amount to be paid as well as the way to get the money on the paper that Leon had left, and then jumped onto the chocobo's back behind the brunette. Leon kicked the bird gently, and with a cry it stood up and wobbled out of the barn. Once they reached the main road, Leon snapped the reins and gave a 'hyah!', and the bird burst into a run. Riku was surprised that it was almost as smooth as riding a motorcycle, if riding with Kadaj could be called smooth.

With a few grunted words under his breath, Riku held onto Leon's waist as they rode out of the town and into the desert, towards a small glow in the distant morning light.

* * *

**Authors Notes: **I love chocobo's. Out of all the Kingdom Hearts fics I've read I've never seen one. I mean, there's a keyblade named after the chocobo, but there's no chocobo's themselves. Excuse the use of them though, heh. I just couldn't think of anything else, and chocobo's are in every Final Fantasy game so… yeah. 

I hope adding the Spirit Brothers isn't going to grate on anyone's nerves. I love them too—Kadaj and Yazoo and Loz all the way!

Like I said in the last chapter, I won't release the pairing just yet, but it is kind of obvious, because I'm dumb like that XD. But to those wondering, no it's not Leon/Riku. Now you can wander around.

Reviews make me happy. Isn't the purple button just so pretty? You can go ahead and click it if you want. Yeessss…

* * *


	4. City

**Authors Notes: **Well, I decided to change the summery a little. Just wanted to say that. To those wondering about the paring, yes it's RikuxSora, because c'mon, they're just like… magneted together with some greater force.

Haha. I can't wait to write Sora… I love him and his retartedness…

**Disclaimer: **I'm about to own the complete manga version of Kingdom Hearts I, and my own Squall and Cloud action figures, both of which I will pose suggestively and post pictures of on the internet. However, I do not own Kingdom Hearts. I want to own Tetsuya Nomura though… that way I can con him into drawing all different kinds of smexy Riku/Sora art.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_City_

* * *

Riku wished that he owned a hat of some sort. He hated the desert, and the sun, and especially the way a certain tall, brunette man was quite talented at sneaking around during the early morning hours. 

The silver haired teen sighed and winced as he slid off the kneeling chocobo. The bird was getting tired, and Leon had stopped it to give it some well-deserved water and let it rest for a few minutes. Sitting on a chocobo's back all day had made Riku's legs ache, and he wasn't looking forward to the rest of the journey. But he had to admit, the chocobo was a much better way to cross the desert than his legs would have been. Leon had said that they would reach the next town by tomorrow morning if they rode all day today.

Riku flopped into the sand and pretended to be under a nice grove of trees. The heat was rolling around in waves, and his full-body covering wasn't helping the heat at all. It wasn't long before Leon sat down in front of him and brought a bottle of water to his lips. Riku accepted the second bottle he offered and uncapped it slowly.

"When we get to the towns…" Leon said, bringing Riku's attention to him. "You have to make sure no one sees your scars."

Riku frowned as he swallowed a mouthful of water. "Why? I mean, it's not like I'm gonna rip them off and flash the world but… I never thought of them as very bad."

"Scars like yours usually indicate a band of fighters that call themselves Dreamers. They were a huge problem a few years ago, and I don't know if they still are. The members were forced to endure the 'marking', and some are probably still weary of people who have so many scars. You might be arrested if anyone sees them…"

Riku's frown grew. "I wasn't planning on showing them to anyone anyway…" Something bumped Riku in the back, pitching him forward slightly. He twisted around and scowled at the chocobo as it rested his head next to his thigh. "Hey! Go bother a cactus or something!"

"Waaark…" The chocobo cooed, snuggling against him and jarring his body some more. Riku fumed and tore the cap off his water bottle. Leon was smirking at him.

Riku gave him a glare that said 'say something and die' as he chugged down the rest of his water. Once they finished a bit of lunch, the two travelers and bird continued on with their trek across the desert. Leon, deciding that the bird's non-stop run from the town of Surbia had taken them far enough, just allowed the bird to leisurely walk through the sands. Since they weren't speeding at breakneck numbers, Riku had no need to hang on to Leon's waist, so he sat back and watched the sand slowly pass by.

Leon was being Leon—quiet, stoic, and bored looking. Riku couldn't strike up a conversation with him at all, because the brunette would just grunt or shrug along with Riku's words, so the silver-haired teen gave up around mid-day. They rode in complete silence until sunset. Riku watched as the sun slowly dipped beneath the horizon, his eyes distant and a small smile on his face.

"You like sunsets."

Riku blinked out of his stupor and looked at Leon, happy that there was material to work with in his conversation starter problem. "Yeah. The first thing I remember is a sunset from my uncle's office."

Leon grunted. "Who's your uncle?"

Riku looked down at his shirt and noticed that there was a string loose. He busied himself with trying to pick it off. "He owns Mako Enterprises—Y'know, the guy who harvests that weird rock found in the mountains that they use for electricity."

Leon's head snapped back. "You're uncle _owns_ the richest company in the world?"

Riku looked up and smirked. "Where do you think I got all my munny?"

Leon's brow furrowed, but he returned to staring ahead with a grunt. Riku allowed himself a grin before pulling the loose string out of his shirt. They continued on in silence until the stars came out. They made camp with little to no speech, then ate dinner. Riku had to tie the chocobo to a cactus to keep it from crushing him as it tried to sleep beside him. Riku looked up at the desert sky from his sleeping position and marveled at how beautifully clear it was. He fell asleep counting the stars.

_Sky… hnn…_

_

* * *

Cactus… cactus… rock… cactus… bush… rock… cactus…_

Riku was, quite literally, bored out of his mind. Leon had shaken him awake a few hours after sunrise, and since he'd already packed everything, they gathered up Riku's blankets and started off once again. Riku wondered, not for the first time, how in the hell Leon knew where they were going. But he didn't comment on it—Leon would probably just shrug anyway.

Sighing roughly, Riku leaned back and scanned the horizon. If he squinted he could see something that looked vaguely like a water tower further off. He suspected that it was where Leon was heading. He closed his eyes and let his body feel the movement of the chocobo beneath him. He could tell when it took a step, because every time it lifted its leg he was jarred in the opposite direction, and the same when the bird stepped down.

He started to hum. He wondered vaguely if he could annoy Leon with it, so he hummed louder.

"Down at an English fair, one evening I was there," Riku sang, a small smirk creeping into his features. "When I heard a showman shouting underneath the flare…" He paused for a moment. When he started again, his voice had taken on a horrible accent.

"Hii've got a lov-aly bunch of coconuts, dododo do, there they are a-standing in a row, dododo do, big one's small ones some as big as your head! Give 'em a twist, a flick of the wrist, that's what the showman said." Riku let his head rest on his shoulder, eyes closed as he picked up the accent again. "Hii've got a lov-aly bunch of coconuts dododo do, every ball ya throw will make me rich, dododo do, there stands me wife, the idol of me life, singing roll-a-bowl-a-ball-a-penny-a-pitch."

Hmm… that wasn't affecting Leon at all… maybe another song Kadaj had taught him…

"I'm, too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it _hurts_…"

That got a reaction, though it wasn't the one Riku was hoping for. Leon spurred the chocobo into a run, and Riku swore as he flailed and grabbed Leon's waist for support. He glared at the brunette's back as the jarring of his body got worse and his hear flowed back.

"You could have just told me to shut up y'know!" Riku snarled, wondering if he should open his mouth and sink his teeth into Leon's jacket-clad shoulder. He shook his head and thought better of it. Leon would think he was weird or something…

Riku pouted until they reached the huge tower. He really wished Leon had more of a sense of humor—he was too quiet and it was boring. He looked over Leon's shoulder and frowned.

A train station?

"What are we doing here?" Riku asked, brow furrowing. Leon slid off the chocobo and flipped the reins over its head.

"Since you have so much money, you can pay for a ride can't you?" Leon gave him a strange look from the corner of his eye, smirking silently. Riku's eyes narrowed as he slid off the chocobo.

"That's not implying anything is it?" He grunted. Leon just shrugged and led the chocobo towards the platform. Riku frowned—what the hell was a train station doing out here in the middle of the desert?

"In case people get lost. There's a small supply of water and food here." Leon answered, as if he'd read Riku's mind. The teen sighed and brushed his sweat-soaked bangs out of his eyes. It was so fucking hot…

The train was waiting in the station—much to their surprise. Riku and Leon paid for their tickets inside, from the conductor—and a stall in the train for the chocobo—and then went inside to claim their seats. The train had small compartments behind glass doors on either side of the hallway. About half of the compartments were occupied as the two made their way back, searching for a free compartment. Leon spoke as they walked.

"The trains are required to make a ten minute stop at every lone station—like this one—when they pass by. Just in case someone's there waiting. It's a new thing that the government instilled about a year ago. All trains are required to have stalls for any traveling animals somewhere on them—it's a law I suppose."

Riku grunted. This was all new information to him. In fact, his uncle had mentioned a lot of new laws and government decisions that had popped up not more than two or three years ago… "Why did these changes suddenly occur? It sounds like a lot of these things happened only a few years ago…"

Leon gave Riku a brief look before settling on the first empty compartment he found. Inside were two seats on each wall, facing each other, between them was a window. Above were racks that would probably hold any large suitcases.

"The rulers changed. New family is taking control now. They have the best in mind, the last rulers were very negligent in the past few years. People were fighting and taking sides to overpower the family. Some liked the current rulers, and others didn't. It's a huge, boring story, and I don't feel like telling you all of it. It's too confusing." Leon sat down in his seat—close to the door—as Riku took his seat next to the window on the opposite wall. Leon set their bags into the empty space beside him and leaned back, arms crossed.

Riku rolled his eyes and got himself comfortable in his seat. After a few moments, the train rumbled and started moving out of the station. Riku turned and leaned his head against the window, staring dully out at the dunes of sand rolling past him. Silently he wished the dunes a happy life for the next hundred or so years that they would roll around, constantly changing and shifting.

It wasn't long before he found himself falling asleep. Vaguely he wondered if Leon had told Cid that he was leaving, but it didn't bother him too much. He hadn't slept well last night, and that only made it easier for him to fall into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Riku." 

Grey eyebrows furrowed and said boy grunted as his eyes slitted open. Sound suddenly invaded his mind—the loud honking of vehicles and their tires as they drove past, the clicking of shoes on concrete, and echoing voices. He looked to his left and his eyes widened.

He was back in civilization. The city kind.

He sat up quickly and blinked at Leon, who was gathering their bags together and standing up. He turned his blue-grey eyes around and looked at Riku with his bored expression.

"Come on. We're going to tell the stable-hands to take the chocobo." He said, before turning and stepping out of the compartment. Riku yawned and stood up, trudging along behind him. He took every chance he could to look out the windows and see behind the station walls, to the skyscrapers and flashing lights that he knew made up what humans called a city. He nearly tripped as they passed into the next train car through the door, so busy was he staring at the windows.

Two more cars and they'd reached the caboose. Leon opened the door and led Riku into the—rather warm and stuffy—animal compartment. There were two other chocobo's besides theirs. Riku stopped in front of their chocobo as Leon continued over towards the stable-hand sitting in the back corner. He knew it was theirs because the feathers on its head stuck up like a Mohawk.

"Well, Mr. Chocobo, I guess we won't be seeing each other again…" Riku said quietly, reaching tentatively to rub the giant beak. The chocobo let out a warm 'waaark' and purred. Riku couldn't help a small smile. "Thanks for taking up across the desert. I mean, I know what it feels like to cross a desert so it must have been hard for you…"

The chocobo blinked at him, then affectionately bumped his head with its own, purring again. Riku chuckled lightly and found himself giving its neck a small hug. "Bye chocobo."

He stepped back, feeling a bit sad and guilty as he made his way over to Leon. The chocobo watched him go with sad eyes—or as sad as a chocobo could make its eyes. Leon gave a final nod to the stable-hand, a young boy with black hair and slightly dark skin, and turned around, opening the door on the other side of the car. Riku looked back at the chocobo, gave one final wave, and then leapt out of the train with Leon.

The station was bright and crowded to breaking. Riku almost had to stick himself to Leon so that he wouldn't get lost, and he stumbled again as they left the station. Outside the cool building it was slightly warm—the end of summer, and it was a little less crowded. In front of them was a busy street, cars zooming past and people chatting to each other as the pottered along, doing what people usually did. Riku wrinkled his nose and looked up at the nearest skyscraper—across the street, and sighed.

It smelled, looked, and sounded like a city crowded full of people.

Leon started walking down the street and Riku hurried after him, wondering who was leading the two of them. It was Riku's job to find his memories, so why was Leon acting like he was leading him around?

"Where are we going?" Riku asked, annoyed. Leon spared him a glance, but not much more.

"Somewhere." The brunette replied, weaving around passerby. Riku weaved with him, already quite good at it considering it had been a daily thing back at his uncle's office.

"Somewhere, as in a place to stay?"

Leon just shrugged and continued onward. Riku scowled and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Leon was still carrying his bag…

"Well, can we get something to eat first? I'm starving…"

Leon gave him a slightly unhappy look, but grunted a "Whatever" and turned to cross the street. Riku froze when he realized that, one, this was not a cross-walk, and two, Leon hadn't even looked for cars. He stared after the brunette as he trudged across the road, looking left and right before walking as fast as he could across the road, joining Leon on the other side. Riku shook his head and sighed. Why did he ever agree to let Leon come with him?

Leon led him down the street and then around a corner and into a small café. Riku frowned silently as they stepped inside, eyeing the stoic brunette.

"You've been to this city before." It wasn't a question. Leon slid a look at him as they got in line behind a black-haired woman.

"Maybe," he said elusively. Riku's shoulders hunched and he glared.

"I know absolutely nothing about you. I don't know why I let you come along. I should have shot myself." The silver-haired teen hissed and turned to glare at the wall.

"Leon?"

Both man and boy blinked and turned to look at the girl in front of them. Blue-grey and aqua met emerald, and all three of them blinked. A smile slowly crawled onto the woman-no, _girls_—face. Riku felt Leon grow stiff.

"Oh. My. _God_!" She squealed, and then leapt forward, arms outstretched. Leon took a step backwards, but it was too late. The girl giggled as her arms wound around Leon's neck, and then she squealed again. "It's almost been _two years_ since I last saw you! Oh my god!"

Riku found himself silently busting a lung as Leon looked down at the girl like a mouse looks at a hungry cat. On the outside he just smirked.

"Yuffie." The brunette grunted, his hands wrapping around her arms, giving a not-so-subtle tug. She refused to let go, instead she tightened her hold.

"I've been so _worried_! I mean, I though you _died_! You left with no notice—nothing, you didn't even take half of your possessions! You just up and disappeared! Aerith and I were so worried!" Yuffie babbled. Riku watched her in interest—he was finally learning _something_ about his stoic counterpart. Though, he did feel a little left out, being ignored and all…

"Yuffie, please." Leon growled, pulling with more vigor. The girl let go and bounced back, tucking her arms behind her back and giving Leon a blinding grin. Riku almost had to shield his eyes—it was so bright.

"Explain." She snapped suddenly. Now the grin seemed menacing, almost insane. Riku subtly shifted his weight and stepped back. Unfortunately for him, Yuffie caught his movement and turned to blink at him. "Hello." She muttered. Riku froze and gave a quick wave.

"Hi." He replied, eyeing her. She seemed to be a bit older than him, but he was still taller, almost as tall as Leon.

"Are you with Leon here?" She asked, cocking her head. He gave a curt nod, then rushed to tell her that he'd only met Leon two days ago, and so didn't know anything about him. Leon seemed to be ignoring the both of them, instead glaring at the menu, making the cashier a little fidgety.

"I see…" Yuffie muttered, placing a finger on her lips and cocking an eyebrow. "Well, Squall's always been like that—"

"Leon." The brunette snapped instantly. Riku blinked and frowned, filing that little slip-up away for later use. Yuffie rolled her eyes and grunted in exasperation.

"Whatever _Leon_. Anyway, I know for a fact that you're not here to visit little-ol' me or Aerith, so why _are_ you here?" Yuffie eyeballed him. Riku looked at Leon with equal curiosity—he wanted to know too.

Leon shifted his weight and looked away. "My own business."

Riku rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. The last time he'd checked, _he_ was the one traveling. Leon had been working in a grease shop with an airship obsessed blonde man who flipped burgers in his free time.

"Right, and I have a three foot pole shoved in my ass." Yuffie snorted. Riku blinked and subtly looked to make sure that she actually _didn't_ have one back there, then paused and scowled. How stupid could he get?

Leon growled and stomped up to the register, effectively cutting Yuffie in line. "Two meals," he snapped. The cashier winced and hastily rung up his order. Riku frowned once more and lowered his brow to glare at the brunette. What if he _didn't_ want a meal? What if he just wanted a sandwich?

… Well, he actually _did_ want a meal, so he let that go for now.

"Leon! I know many secrets about you that I can easily divulge onto your friend here if you don't tell me what you're here for!"

Riku blinked and looked between Leon's slightly more stoic gaze and Yuffie's menacing grin with interest. He was perfectly fine with that—win-win situation. He smirked at Leon and stood back.

There was a short pause, and then Leon broke. "I'm looking for Cloud."

Yuffie's expression immediately sobered. Her eyes took on a strange glint and her mouth twisted into a grim frown. "You're not… with _them_ are you?"

Leon immediately gave a shake of the head. "I… need to ask him a favor."

Yuffie rubbed the back of her neck with a soft sigh, her eyes pained. "Leon, please don't ask anything more of him. He's been through enough already…"

The brunette scowled angrily. "It's not for me! It's for him!" a hand was tossed in Riku's vague direction, and the silver-haired teen blinked. For him? What the hell was Leon up to?

"Huh?" The aqua eyed boy bubbled. "What can this Cloud guy do to help me?"

Leon refused to meet his gaze, instead opting to turn around and glare at the menu board some more. One meal had been set out on the counter, the other yet to appear. The cashier looked ready to pee himself. Yuffie rolled her eyes and turned to Riku with a slightly softer expression.

"Cloud… well, he's not your normal guy. He has… well, let's just say he's really good at digging up information on anything and everything, from what brand of eye-drops the presidents wife uses to the shape of her tonsils." Yuffie's shoulder angled up roughly and dropped in a shrug. Riku's brow furrowed. This Cloud person seemed to be just what he needed…

Dammit. Now he was feeling bad for calling Leon a dumbass in his head when the brunette really _was_ helping him.

"Oh," he said unintelligently, shifting his weight as another meal appeared next to the first one. Leon fished around inside of his duffel bag and produced his own wallet, slamming the munny down on the counter and grabbing one of the boxes that contained their lunch. Riku sighed as he followed suit, plopping himself down at Leon's table after giving a small wave to Yuffie. Great, the brunette had paid for the both of them too.

There was silence for the first few moments of meal-enjoyment. Then, the guilt-monster eating ravenously at his liver, Riku heaved a sigh and stuffed a chicken strip in his mouth. "I'b sowwy."

Leon looked up and gave him a strange look. Riku scowled, chewed his chicken, swallowed, and cleared his throat. "I said I'm sorry. For doubting you."

Leon just eyeballed him with his grey-blue eyes, then rolled them as he took a bite of his own chicken. "Whatever."

Riku sighed, but relented. Leon was really trying to help him out. He didn't know why, and Leon wasn't about to spill his entire life story over the table like a cup of water, so he didn't even bother anymore. He was content in knowing he had gained someone to help him along the way. Someone who seemed to have connections in all the right places.

And that, was something Riku could respect.

* * *


	5. Cloud Strife

**Authors Notes: **Ugh, this chapter fought me. I'm not particularly happy with it. But, it's done! I've actually been reading a lot, and I'm easily distracted, so when I start reading I forget about the story for a while, but in the end I'll get inspired and jot down a few lines. That's basically how my chapters are born! XD

My updating schedule is obviously sporadic, and I apologize for that. It's always been like that, but I'm pretty sure I won't go months without updating, unless school bogs me down. If that happens, I'll try to punch out extra long chapters.

I love **AbnormallyWeirdPerson**'s guesses XD But I'm not saying anything! Heehee. It'll come out in the story!

Thank you guys for reviewing! I really appreciate it. You guys make me grin!

**Disclaimer: **Me no own.

**

* * *

Chapter 5  
**

_Cloud Strife_

* * *

The music blared in his ears, loud and overbearing. But Sora was much too lazy to reach over and turn the little volume slide down. He knew that it was only this loud because his headphones were padded and enveloped his ears like a container. Besides, he didn't have anything better to do—blowing out his ears sounded rather interesting. He was silently watching the water roll around in the fountain whose ledge he'd perched himself upon, fingers tapping on the white rock to the beat. It was warm today—warmer than usual for the little town he lived in. He liked the warmth, but not so much today. The uniform he wore was far too constricting to make it comfortable, and his palms were sweating. 

A sudden movement beside him broke his eerie staring contest with the jumping water. He turned and blinked at his companion, a spiky red-head who was looking thoughtfully down at the notebook in his arms. His hand was wiggling the pencil in his hand quickly, but his eyes weren't paying much attention to what he was doing. Sora pulled his headphones down around his neck and blinked at him again.

"Axel actually writing something?" He said teasingly. It pulled his companion from la-la land and back to the world. Axel's green eyes slid from space to Sora, and he grunted.

"It's not for class," he grumped, setting the pencil beside him. Sora knew that he was the only person Axel really talked to outside of classes, or hung out with, or did anything with. Axel was a loner if Sora ever saw one, but that didn't mean loners didn't get lonely from time to time.

"The only other reason that you'd pick up a pencil and write willingly was if the world was ending and you were writing out a note to the aliens who would find your body a million-years later to tell them not to put your skull in an alien museum." Sora said with a small grin. Axel gave him a weird look and Sora looked away in embarrassment.

_Keep you're weirdness to yourself Sora,_ he scolded. "So… what _are_ you writing?"

Axel looked at his notebook, then at Sora, and then back again, contemplating weather he should share it with the small brunette at his side. Sora gave him the best innocent stare he could muster, and Axel snorted, throwing the notebook at him. He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "I don't even know why I try."

Sora fumbled with the notebook, glad that Axel had very good aim and that Sora's clumsiness wasn't _always_ present, or else the book would have dropped into the fountain they were resting on. He opened it and looked over the first page. Hn. Algebra. Nope, next page…

Sora flipped through the notebook until he came to a rather messy page full of words. His deep blue eyes scanned that page for a short moment, and he blinked, turning to grin at Axel, who tried to vehemently deny the flush creeping into his tattooed cheeks.

"Roxas eh?" He muttered. "He actually looks a lot like me…"

"You guys could be twins, brothers even." Axel grunted. Sora frowned and looked back at the book. Axel had written Roxas' name all over the page and doodled around the letters. There was even a spot in the corner with an A + R inside of a doodled balloon.

"Is that why you tolerate my presence?" Sora asked, not looking up from the notebook. Axel grunted.

"Maybe."

Sora grinned. Axel, Roxas, and his friend Kairi were the only three people who could stand being around Sora. It wasn't because Sora was annoying or anything like that. In fact, he was quite open and friendly, always aiming to please those around him, weather he knew them or not. It wasn't his fault he saw so many things…

"Well, Roxas has an obsession with ice-cream." Sora said, closing the notebook and setting it between the two of them. "Give him a bar of sea-salt and he melts." The brunette snickered.

"Are you giving me tips on picking Roxas up?" The red-head asked irritably. Sora gave him a coy grin.

"I know Roxas better than anyone. I grew up with him."

"You grew up with Kairi too." Axel rolled his eyes. "But there's another person right? I mean, the school gossip line says that you knew some kid who was like—" Axel happened to look at Sora out of the corner of his eye at that moment, and stopped talking. The brunette boy was wearing an expression that he'd never seen, an expression of deep inner turmoil and hurt. Obviously, Axel had carelessly stumbled onto a soft spot in Sora's unflinching optimism. "Ahhm… Never mind…"

Sora gave him a brief smile. "It's okay. He… he was a good friend of mine but… I can't remember him very well." Sora looked away, his brow furrowed. "And neither can Kairi. I know that he was there but… his face, it's… blurred… I can't remember what he looked like, or what he was like himself. And when I think about him, it hurts…" Sora's hand crept up to fist in his school uniform—right over his heart. The summer wind blew, making the brunette boy flinch as his spiky hair scrabbled around his face. Axel looked at him silently, listening. He didn't know what he could say to his friend, but by the health classes he'd been taking, he knew that it was better to just let the boy talk.

Sora shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, giving a slightly sheepish smile. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't go off into rants like that." He stood up and patted down his uniform shirt, his leg swinging out as he turned around and gave Axel a goofy grin. "I want ice-cream."

Axel's eyes slid into a glare. "Get your own ice-cream."

"But I don't get paid until Friday!" Sora whined, wiggling his entire body. "C'mon puhleeaaassse? I have a sweet tooth and a craving for sugar!"

"I don't see what's in it for me," the red-head grumped, crossing his arms over his chest. His green eyes locked onto Sora's deep blue—a color of blue that was uniquely Sora's. The only color that rivaled his blue was Roxas' blue—which was only an inch of a shade lighter. Axel liked Sora's blue eyes, but he liked Roxas' better.

"I'll give you Roxas phone number." Sora grinned. "And I'll tell you stuff about him. Did you know that Roxas is actually a sappy romantic? He wants his first kiss to be in the rain because he heard this weird rumor about kissing in the rain meaning a relationship will last forever." Never mind Roxas would skin Sora alive if he found out that Sora had just divulged this to Axel. Sora could mourn his own death _after_ ice-cream. The Craving was eating at him, and he _needed_ it.

Axel eyeballed Sora for a moment. "Sometimes I think you deliberately blackmail people…"

Sora just grinned. Axel grunted a sigh and heaved himself off the lip of the fountain as if he was grievously injured. "Fine, you smiling ball of all that is _happy_. Ugh. You burn my retina's." he grouched, grabbing his notebook. "I'll get you your freaking ice-cream."

Sora happily bounced after him, thanking his ability to know what made people do _just_ what he wanted them to do.

* * *

Yuffie had joined Riku and Leon for lunch, babbling insistently about some kind of jewelry that involved many of the words meaning 'shiny' and 'glowy'. Materia, as she'd said, was all the rage in the city. It was almost as highly priced as diamonds. 

Anything else she said however, was drained out by Riku's stomach. He proceeded to nod and smile when she looked at him, but food was much higher on his list than some kind of glowy jewelry. After lunch, Leon managed to pry an address out of Yuffie's spazzing mouth, and soon, the silver-haired teen and the stoic brunette found themselves standing in front of a ratty, broken down apartment complex located in the bowels of the city slums. Riku eyed the piles of garbage and their scent with utter distaste, and hoped that what was groaning from them was a dying cat and not a hobo with a hairy face. The thought made him shiver roughly in disgust.

Leon started up the rusting steps to apartment 7C, where Cloud resided, according to Yuffie. Riku followed closely after him, hoping that some batty old lady brandishing her cane wouldn't come out of her apartment and accost him.

The stairs creaked and groaned as the ascended to the third level. Riku was wondering if the metal would break, but thankfully it didn't, and they made it to the third floor with relative ease. The door to the very left, at the end of the balcony (creaky metal, just like the stairs) led to 7C. The railing at the end was gone, and Riku had to remind himself not to step too close lest he fall into the hobo infested trash below.

Leon stopped at the door and looked at it with obvious distaste. The letters were gone—only the imprint in the sludge coating the rusting metal door indicated that a number had, at one time, been there. He lifted a hand and pressed the small button beside the door, wincing as a sound that sounded a lot like a cat yowling its doomed days pierced the air. Riku shifted nervously.

After a few moments, the door opened a crack. A pair of blue eyes peeked out the small opening and narrowed in suspicion. "Who is it?" A light voice asked, distrust lacing every syllable.

Riku's eyes locked onto the blue and his eyes narrowed. Those eyes—there were so dangerously close to _his_ blue. But they _weren't_ his blue. Deep in those sky colored orbs was a strange, glowing green tint, a color that was only there if one was focusing completely on those blue eyes.

"Leon." The stoic brunette said. Those blue eyes widened and the door came flying outwards, nearly smashing Leon's nose off. Thankfully the brunette had good reflexes and dodged the door just barely.

In the ratty doorway, wearing a sweater that was far too big, and a pair of rather dirty jeans that were also too big, was a young, blonde man. His hair was outrageously spiked, defying gravity in every sense of the word. The spikiness seemed oddly familiar to Riku, but he shook it off. Other than the too-big clothes, the man standing before them looked quite healthy, unlike the rest of his environment. His glowing blue eyes were wide with wonder, and he was staring hard at Leon.

"L-Leon?" The blonde whispered, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Leon's expression seemed to soften and he nodded, his arms lifting up to cross over his chest.

"Been a while… Cloud…"

"A while like two years…" he growled, the surprise slowly filtering out of his expression. He was glaring now, one hand holding the doorjamb. "Where the hell have you been?"

"The middle of nowhere."

Riku blinked and looked between the two men. Leon talked to this Cloud person differently than he did to anyone else. He didn't look like he had a metal rod shoved up his ass, and he seemed almost… _friendly_.

"I need a favor." Leon said, his gaze dropping slightly.

That was definitely not the right thing to say. Cloud bristled, and even his hair seemed to become spikier with the anger inflating him. "A _favor_." He spat. "You disappear without a trace for two years, appear on my doorstep with little more that a hello, and ask a _favor_?"

Leon scowled. "I shouldn't need to explain myself to you."

"You could have at least told _me_ Squall!" Riku noticed that Leon winced at the name, but didn't correct Cloud. The teen proceeded to make himself as invisible as possible—this was getting interesting. "I was _there_. I know why you left, but that doesn't mean I forgive you for it."

There was a tense silence, in which the two men glared at each other. Leon was taller than the both of them, so he did impose a bit more intimidation, but the angry daggers and knives that Cloud was tossing at him rivaled his height difference equally.

After a couple of moments in which the men just tried to kill each other with their eyes, Riku got fed up. He coughed into his hand and cleared his throat. "Well. I don't suppose we're welcome here."

Cloud finally tore his gaze away from Leon and focused on Riku. His scowl lessened into a small frown. "Who're you?"

Riku opened his mouth to answer that question, but Leon spoke before he could get a word in.

"He's the reason I left."

Cloud's eyes widened and then narrowed into a small glower. Riku shifted uncomfortably, his hand reaching back the scrub the back of his neck underneath his silver hair. He made a small note in his head to interrogate Leon about that little scrap of information. "Uh… hi?"

Cloud's eyes raked over his figure, and Riku looked away, feeling exposed under that cool, deep blue gaze. After a thorough twice over, Cloud's gaze returned to Leon.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked, in a resigned sort of way. He seemed to deflate, dropping so his shoulder would press against the doorjamb. One hand came up to massage the bridge of his nose while the other curled over his chest, bunching up the long clothes covering his body.

"Memory wipe." Leon said, as if that explained everything. Cloud looked like it did, but Riku was thrown out of the loop.

"My memory was _wiped_?" Riku said, eyeballing Leon. The brunette grunted. "By _what_?"

"It's so severe that he'd forgotten basic things, like what clothes and desks were."

Cloud's eyes widened, and then he straightened, steeping aside wearily and gesturing for them to follow as he slithered back inside. Leon obliged, and Riku followed him. Cloud closed the rusty door with a mild screech, dead bolted it and locked it, then turned around and leaned back against it. "They only do that to the one's they don't want leaking things."

Riku took a look around the small apartment. It smelled slightly of some kind of cheep car air freshener, and the floors were dark brown and riddled with stains. There was a couch to his left, worn and eking fluff at the arm-rests, but it did look comfortable. The walls were chipping and there were stains there as well, as well as the remnants of some red and green crayon marks in a corner.

"I came to you because you were the only one I thought that would be able to help him." Leon said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking annoyed. Riku blinked and looked at Leon, surprised. Had he been thinking of dragging him all the way to Cloud the entire time?

_Most likely…_ his brain told him. _Leon's not the type to procrastinate. He's like, the kind of guy who thinks ahead all the time._ He frowned and crossed his arms. Damn, now he felt a little guilty for doubting the guy. Not that he'd _completely_ doubted him though… he didn't know him well enough to pass judgments like that so easily. But it was kind of Leon's fault too. He hadn't given Riku any indication about his intentions, other than the fact that he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Bah. Whatever… it was over and done with…

But he'd get back at Leon about it… _somehow._

"Oh?" Cloud muttered, kneading his nose again. "Well then. How the hell can I help him?"

"I'm looking for… someone or something," Riku broke in before Leon could speak for him. Cloud's cool gaze dropped to the teen, and Riku almost flinched away. "I'm not sure what it is… exactly… actually, it's just a color…"

Cloud's eyebrow perked. "A color." He drawled. A sigh heaved itself from his chest as he pushed off the door, shuffling wearily into the grungy kitchen behind the two guests. "Right. Do you like tea? Cause all I have is tea and ramen, god-damn cheap crap."

Riku blinked, following Cloud with his eyes. The blonde heaved open the choking refrigerator and disappeared momentarily, coming out with a jug of artificial tea. "I'd make it with the real stuff, but that stuff is taxed to crap. The artificial stuff is cheaper."

Well. It was obvious Cloud was not in a very good spot, money-wise. Riku blinked. That could work to his advantage. The blonde gestured vaguely to the small bedside table and the two lonely chairs that were bushed up to it. Riku hid a wince. Damn. Not even a proper kitchen table.

Riku took the invitation, but Leon only walked towards it, a strange expressing twitching his features. "What happened to you…?" he asked quietly. Riku stared at him. That was the most emotion Leon had put in his voice, like, _ever_.

Cloud glanced up from pouring the tea and shrugged, making a vague hand motion as he capped he bottle. "I take odd jobs when they're available. The city is packed, and I don't have the money to move, so I have to make due here. The rent guy died last week, and it seems he's kind of forgotten about this place, so it's basically free, 'cause he was a rich sunofa-bitch and the power people don't mind leeching the money out of his account now that no one will complain about it." Cloud rolled his eyes as he shuffled over to the two of them, giving Riku his cup and handing one to Leon. "Don't break those. I only have two."

Leon's brow furrowed, and he set his tea on the table. Riku eyed his uneasily, and took a small sip. "Then… why do you look so…" Riku started, but Cloud understood.

"Healthy?" Cloud shrugged. It seemed his anger was gone, replaced by some kind of weary annoyance. "I may not have a job, but Yuffie and Aerith work their own flower shop. Yuffie makes deliveries and Aerith grows them really well. She's really good at making flower things…" Cloud ran a hand through his hair, not disturbing it whatsoever. "Women _like_ flower capes, and if that gives them income, I don't care who the hell buys them. They bring food and stuff over every week, no matter how many times I tell them to leave me be. But you know Yuffie… I've just kinda given up of telling them to stuff it, so I eat." Cloud shrugged. "I think I'm getting kinda fat actually…"

Riku looked at Cloud in admiration. He was dirt poor, but he was healthy and leading a rather… well… not _happy_ from that dull glare in his eyes, but he seemed… content. Leon seemed satisfied, and that creepy look in his eyes was gone. He nodded, only then taking a sip of his tea. Cloud sighed and scratched the back of his neck, flopping down in the chair across from Riku.

"So," he said, now addressing Riku. "This blue color." The blonde grunted. "Describe it to me."

Well, that wasn't too hard. Hell, he was good at describing his blue… "Well, it's deep… like, looking into this abyss that just wraps around you and forces you to keep looking. It's like no other color in the world, not like the ocean, not dark enough, not like the sky, too dark… it's… it makes me feel warm, when I think about it." Riku scratched his neck again, embarrassed to be speaking like this. But hey, if this guy could help him… "When I think about that blue color, all my thoughts just… stop. And it's all I can think about." He looked up at Cloud, who was staring at him. A slow smirk spread on his lips.

"That sounds like someone talking a person they love." He snickered when Riku immediately bristled. "Don't worry." He sighed before Riku could get a word in. He stood up and looked at Leon. "I'll do this for you, but you have to tell me the whole story. Then I want to talk to you. _Alone._"

Riku's eyebrows rose at that, but Leon just looked annoyed. Cloud brushed it off, and then turned to the both of them. "Alright, this could take a while. I haven't done it in nearly two years, so I'm a bit rusty… anyway, you guys can stay here tonight. I have an extra blanket in the closet, _one_ extra blanket, so either you two are gonna have to sleep together, or one of you sleeps with me."

Riku flushed and was about to protest, but he was cut off—_again_—by Leon and his coolness.

"I'll sleep with you."

Riku's jaw dropped. Did Leon just _say_ that? His ears must be bleeding. Cloud gave Leon a calculating gaze, and then he snorted, turning around again. He walked to a dark doorway that Riku hadn't really paid much attention to—which must have been his room—and disappeared inside. His voice came out though, loud and clear. "I'll tell you guys when I'm done. You can come in and watch, but don't bother me, cause I'll loose it. If the house catches fire, _then_ you bother me. Otherwise, no."

And he closed his door—or rather, he _slammed_ his door—leaving Leon glaring, and Riku impersonating a person just slapped with a cold, wet fish.

* * *


	6. Towards Our Goal

**Authors Notes: **Gah, sorry for the wait! I have excuses! I went away from internet connection for a while, and school started (all in one week ). I'm trying to get into the school groove again. This year I'm taking an AVID class thingie, which requires like, two hours of homework a night, and my first English assignment took up an hour in itself. About the only time I can write for long periods of time is the weekends, but we'll just have to see.

Oh, and I have a question for my reviewers. I've written fanfiction before, and I've come across the same complaint a lot, and I was just wondering—people don't like the length of my chapters. It just confuses me—because I'm not sure what they mean. I mean, are they too short? Too long? Do they cut off wrongly or something?

I'm not pegging anyone, I'm just wondering, 'cause I personally like longer chapters. I believe it makes each chapter much more enjoyable because it's full of events and stuff going on. Shorter chapters annoy me, because all a short chapter can contain is probably a conversation or two with nothing much going on. Is it just a personal preference kind of thing? If it is, I don't mind. It's just a little thing that piqued my brain.

I try to make my chapters a medium kinda length—in the middle I guess. Not too short and not too long. I like the length of the chapters now, but every now and then I may have a chapter a page less (I usually write 6/7 Word pages a chapter) or a couple pages longer. I hope it doesn't turn anyone away. I mean, Uzumaki-sama has a series of one-shots, and each one has about 40 pages written in it (which is OMG A LOT O-O ), and though I like that length, it would take me months to punch out chapters. So medium length chapters just take shorter time with good quality (I hope).

Okay I'm done with my rant. I'm sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts. But I want to. That and Miyavi, because he's sexy. Mmm, I want to eat him.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_Towards our Goal_

* * *

Sora was one of the few people in the world who was as unlucky as an upside-down horseshoe, but still managed to be so sickeningly optimistic about everything. It was one of the few traits he possessed that he actually found quite endearing. Sometimes, he didn't even know where his happiness came from, but he wasn't complaining. Hell, he'd rather think about sunshine and daisies than entertain thoughts of stabbing someone. 

So, when Sora received his Letter, he was only slightly discouraged. He knew that the letters were nothing but a means to show the school that there was someone outside its walls that thought about Sora, if only for the short amount of time it took to write a four sentence letter.

_Sora,_

_Just so you know, your bedroom has finally been rented out. Feel free to stay at school again this month. Attached is the money you'll need for school fees, but other than that you still have to pay for your own things. We won't be around for the break next month, so you might as well stay where you are._

And that was it. There was nothing more. It wasn't even handwritten. His parents had probably typed it out at work so that they could send it to him as quickly as possible.

The brunette sighed and tossed the letter on his bedside table, flopping down onto the bed and pulling off his oversized yellow shoes. His closet was a place where rainbows came to hang out, and it was only appropriate that his shoes matched the quote.

"Okay, I have homework in Physics, English and International Relations…" The brunette ticked off as he pulled his backpack onto the bed with a grunt. He refused to use the lockers that had been provided for the soul reason that if it rained overnight, his books would be ruined, and then he'd have to shell out sixty or seventy dollars to pay for it.

The teen set the heavy pack in his lap and started rummaging through it, pulling out the necessary materials. Once he was sure he had everything, he tossed the bag to the floor and got himself comfortable for a three hour homework session.

Just as he was about to put his pencil to work, the phone rang. It startled him at first, but with a curse he grabbed the ringing annoyance and brought it to his ear as he fished around his thighs for the escaped pencil. "Hello, Sora Onrei speaking."

"Hey Sora," the voice said. Sora grunted—he'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Hey Roxas." The brunette replied, smiling in triumph once he discovered his flyaway pencil. "What's up?"

"Two things actually," Roxas said, and the tone of his voice made small warning bells tinkle in Sora's mind.

"Uh… go on…"

"First, since you didn't have World Tech today, I wanted to tell you what the guys were talking about."

A small feeling of relief climbed into Sora's chest, and he blew out the breath he'd been holding. "What is it?"

"Apparently a runaway from the old military has been seen in one of the big cities. We're to get in touch with everyone we know outside the school to see if we can get any information about suspicious people lurking around the cities." Roxas instructed. Sora frowned. If it was just one person, why was the military getting so antsy about it?

"Alright… what about the other thing?"

"Axel asked me out today," Roxas drawled, and Sora slowly tensed up. "and he got me Sea-Salt ice cream."

Sora bit his lip. Only he and Kairi knew about Roxas' obsession with sea-salt ice cream. _Dammit! I never should have told him…_

"Uh… yeah?"

"Just a fair warning." And then Roxas hung up. Sora pulled the phone away from his ear and gave it a horrified look. Oh great. When Roxas planned something, it usually meant Sora would be walking around in humiliation. He could only hope that this time, Roxas would go easy on him.

Last time he'd been blonde for a month.

* * *

Leon rooted around Cloud's tiny apartment, searching for the closet the blonde had mentioned. When he found it, he pulled out a red comforter. It was a little ragged with use, but still soft and relatively comfortable looking. He threw it on the couch and turned to Riku. "You're sleeping on the couch." 

"Yeah I kinda figured…" Riku grumbled, looking at Cloud's closed door. Leon grunted something and walked over to it.

"You should sleep." He said as he opened the door and went inside, closing it firmly behind him. Riku stared after him, blinking in confusion. Now he was standing in the middle of the hallway, feeling a bit stupid about it. He had a feeling that Leon's comment had meant more than he let on—as in, "go to bed and don't come in here." Well fine! See if _he_ cared!

Scowling, Riku flopped onto the couch and rolled onto his side, prying his heavy shoes off with his feet—along with his socks—and burrowing his toes beneath the comforter. The couch was unusually soft and cushy, probably because of overuse, but still, it was better than the nasty floor. The silver-haired teen sighed and flopped onto his back, lifting his hands up before his face. The black cloth that covered them stared back at him.

He wondered if Cloud would mind his scars. His clothes were feeling more and more obstructing, and he just wanted to change into something that wasn't so warm and suffocating. The air conditioning in the apartment seemed rather faulty, and in the middle of summer, that was one thing a person did not want. Especially a person like Riku, who was very partial to cool places—like his chair in front of the air-vent at his uncle's office.

After a moment of deep thought, Riku sat up and pulled off his vest, folding it up neatly (to be polite) and dropping it onto the floor beside him. Ahh… that felt so much better.

With a content grunt, Riku grabbed the covers and manhandled them around himself until he was comfortable. He was asleep within the next few moments.

* * *

When Riku awoke, it was sometime during the night or very early morning. The room was dark, but not pitch-black. He sat up and shook his head, lifting a hand to rub his face free of a few dregs of sleep. He looked around the apartment blearily, his eyes picking up nothing more than a few splotches and reflective surfaces. 

He caught sight of the clock on the microwave—it read five thirty. The teen frowned and flopped onto his bottom. He really must have been tired yesterday…

He looked around once more, and then noticed Cloud's bedroom door. There was a soft, bluish light filtering out of the crack beneath, and it piqued the silver-haired-teens interest. Sliding off the couch, he grabbed the vest he'd removed before bed and cautiously picked his way over to the door, sliding his feet along the carpet so that he didn't trip over anything unseen. Once he'd fitted the vest back on, he quietly pushed the door open and peeked inside, scanning the room.

His eyes fell over Leon first. The bed was large and relatively new looking, (probably one of the things received from the girls) and could probably fit two people with only slight spooning. As of now, there was a lump in the bed. A mane of brown was resting at the head of the bed from beneath the blanket. Riku almost snickered. So Leon the Lion actually slept? It was oddly human.

Riku let his Caribbean gaze slither away from the prone body on the bed and towards the source of the cool blue light. He frowned at Cloud's back. The blonde was sitting in a computer chair in front of an ancient looking piece of said technology. His right hand was hovering over the screen while his left tapped keys out, flitting over the board in a blur. Intrigued, the teen stepped further into the room.

"Riku." The blonde said suddenly, dropping his hand away from the blank screen. His shoulders sagged slightly and he flopped back into his chair with a heavy sigh, bringing up a hand to rub his eyes. "Just in time. I finally finished."

Riku frowned and trotted forward, coming to a stop at Cloud's side. "What were you doing?"

"What I was "programmed" to do." The blonde said with a kind of heaviness. Riku nodded, having no desire to push the issue. "I can scan memory banks in computers and other machines. It's useful to both good and bad guys, and I've had my share of both kinds." Cloud sighed, looking weary. Riku blinked. He must have been up all night!

"What… were you searching for exactly?" The teen asked, looking at the blank white screen. Cloud gave a one-shoulder shrug.

"Your blue." He said simply. He leaned forward and tapped the screen with his index finger. The computer gave a whir, and then the screen buzzed on. Cloud took the keyboard in hand and started sifting through computer files. He arrived at a text document and sat back. Riku looked at it as well.

"I tried searching for blues. I mean, I spent eleven hours sifting through this stuff. I singled out things that might work." He pointed to the screen, where a large picture of a beach was. The water was a deep, pearlescent blue color. "This beach is the only one of its kind. The water there is considered holy, and only the natives are permitted to use it. Ring any bells?"

Riku studied the photograph. It was a unique shade, but it was too light. It wasn't his blue. "No…"

Cloud scrolled down to the next entry. And so this went on for a couple hours. It was about in the middle of the list when Riku suddenly noticed something. He'd told Cloud to go on when his eye caught a snatch of something. "Wait, go back."

Cloud sat up straighter (he'd slouched until he wasn't even "sitting" in his chair) and scrolled back up. "What?"

Riku studied the page. There were a few scattered pictures of a school, and Cloud had saved them because of a deep blue flower that was growing in a garden somewhere on the school grounds. It was, apparently, the only place that the flower grew, and the school was named after it. It was a private school held by the military, dedicated to helping kids whose parent's couldn't afford proper schooling. Instead, the children were enlisted into the academy, where they were given strict lessons, and then dispatched to go train.

The picture that caught Riku's eye was a small snapshot taken for the school's paper (as Cloud had mumbled). On a small stone bench that was engraved with vines and flowers sat two boys. Next to them was a small bushel of the blue flowers that Cloud had found. One of the boys had blondish brown hair, and the one next to him was a middle colored brunette. The blondish one was grinning at his partner, and that boy was smiling at him, a book held open in his hands. Resting on his hip was a shoulder pack, and they were both wearing blue and red uniforms.

Riku looked at the boy's faces, and something in his chest stopped working.

"T-that's it…" he breathed, his body shivering in excitement.

"What?" Cloud blinked.

"His eyes," Riku whispered, pointing at the brunette. "Both of their eyes! That's the blue. That's it!"

Cloud squinted and frowned. The boys had very distinct deep blue eyes, and he had to say that they were very beautiful. With a flick to the computer screen, Cloud flashed his palm and the schools website was immediately brought up. "Akiaoi Academy. Reserved for those enlisted in the army."

"We have to go there!" Riku hissed. "How old was that picture?"

"About a year." Cloud said, his eyes scanning the screen in front of him. "How are you going to get there? I have no mode of transport, and the only train that goes there is military issue. You will never get Leon on a military train, and I won't even go near one."

Riku's gaze turned to Cloud, surprised. "Does that mean you're going with us?"

The blonde just shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do. The academy is in the north, in the mountains. We'll either have to somehow hitch a ride, or walk. And I can tell you right now, it's going to take at least a week and a half to get even halfway on foot."

If Cloud had known Riku as well as Kadaj and Yazoo knew him, he would have known that the deep, thoughtful look on his face meant impending doom. But, unfortunately for Cloud, he'd only met Riku the day before, and couldn't possibly fathom what that expression meant. But Cloud was not a stupid man. He knew that whatever it was that Riku was planning, it was something that may somehow cause bodily harm. And when the teen grinned, Cloud was sure of it.

* * *

Later that day, after a nice long shower, an hour to make his hair look right, and then a half-an-hour for breakfast, Riku told Cloud and Leon what he was planning. When he finished speaking, both were staring at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted tentacles. 

"Okay first, no matter what you say Riku, no one will believe you when you say you're twenty one." Cloud said, "And you don't have a driver's license. Second, the rentals are run by the _army_, the very people who are _trained_ to recognize us even if we'd changed our faces. If you haven't figured it out already, Leon and I are both not very fond of the army."

Riku huffed. Well, he hadn't thought about that. He's proposed that Leon or Cloud rent a car from the rental agency near the train-station using his money, but that had gone down the drain. Riku looked eighteen, but not twenty, his face was too young, so he couldn't do it himself, especially without the identity. He thought for a moment, and then smirked. "We can well… hijack one."

The older men stared at him again.

"Let me get this straight," Cloud muttered, dropping his forehead into his hand. "You want to go to the rental area, hijack a car, and somehow drive it to this school in the north?"

Riku nodded, giving his rice-treat a lick. "You or Leon can drive. I can leave money like we did with the chocobo."

"And what makes you think that we'll agree to this?"

Riku shrugged. "I could always go alone… y'know… give blowjobs or something."

Cloud made a very undignified squeaking noise and Leon nearly swallowed his spoon along with his cereal. "What!" The blonde yelped, his voice an octave higher. Riku frowned as he bit off a corner of his snack.

"Kadaj always said that if I needed to get around I could offer blowjobs for a ride." He said, shifting in his seat. Cloud slapped his face as Leon kneaded the bridge of his nose.

"Do you even know what that is?" Leon growled. He was not a morning person.

"Uh… no, not really." The teen blinked at both men. Cloud grumbled something under his breath and Leon rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Riku, whoever this Kadaj person is… I think you'd be much better off ignoring his advice…" Cloud said. Riku snorted and took another bite out of his treat.

"Yeah, I know. I was stupid enough to believe him when he told me that setting gas on fire made the office smell nice."

Leon and Cloud exchanged silent glances as Riku carried on with his snack. Both of them made the silent arrangement that whoever this Kadaj was, he was twisted and evil, and that they should never listen to anything Riku suggested from him.

"Alright, so how do you suggest we steal this car without a key?" Cloud sighed in resignation. Riku smirked.

"Aren't you good with technology Cloud?"

The blonde's eyebrows rose. As a matter of fact, that could work…

"… You've thought about this before…"

"Well… once. When I blew up the office." Riku looked away and twiddled his thumbs as he chewed on the last bit of the treat. Cloud closed his eyes briefly, and then he stood up.

"Give me a few minutes to pack and get everything ready." He said in a resigned way, plodding into his room with an air of death. Riku grinned.

Leon just shook his head and drank his coffee, not in the mood to deal with a rebellious teen at the moment.

Once Cloud was finished packing his things, he added his—admittedly small—duffel bag to Leon's and Riku's pack, and changed into something more presentable. Now he wore a sleeveless blue turtleneck and some dark army-issue pants that belted tightly to keep them from falling off his slim hips. His hair wasn't even touched, and still stuck up like he'd just rolled out of bed.

At Leon's request, Cloud gave Riku a baggy shirt to change into—one that hugged his neck but covered his hands. Cloud eyed the exposed scars on Riku's neck with disdain after giving the boy some too-large jeans. "Well, guess it can't be helped…"

The blonde disappeared into his room for a moment, and came out with a dog collar—one that was about two inches wide.

"No," Riku said instantly, shaking his head. "Nu-uh, I am _not_ a dog."

"If you don't want to be arrested, just put the damn collar on." Leon growled. The brunette had changed into a plain white tee-shirt and black jeans. Riku muttered curses under his breath as he reluctantly took the collar from Cloud's hand. Leon didn't like to be held up when he was ready to go—it made him antsy.

"Oh fuck. It's even got tags." He sulked as the collar jingled. He looked at the two slips of metal—one read the all clear for rabies and the other read Nanaki with an address.

"Well, we know you don't have rabies at least." Cloud smirked as Riku belted the collar around his neck.

"I'll laugh at your funeral." The teen growled, glaring sharp, pointy objects in Cloud's general direction.

"Whatever," Leon snapped suddenly, standing up. "Are we leaving now?"

Cloud rolled his eyes and shouldered his pack, giving his apartment one last look-over. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

**Thanks to: **_xinli-chan_, **RoguefanAM**, _lunarxshinobi_, **ArosxIrukxOxarsxLeax**, _AbnormallyWeirdPerson_, and **apie**! 

You guys rock so much :tear: I love you!


	7. Hijacking is Dangerous

**Authors Notes: **Next chapter! Yay! I can't help but feel that this chapter was a bit rushed… for now I'm sort of content.

Oh, in case anyone was wondering, Sora and Riku aren't on the same timeline—when I switch to Sora it's two days into the future. This is because I seriously wanted to write Sora, and I found a neat place to just stick him and his school buddies in. So sorry if people find this annoying!

Nyuu, I already have another idea for a fic. This one was going to be an original story, but I felt it fit better into a fanfiction. I dunno if I'll start it anytime soon, so just keep a lookout!

Oh yeah, another thing. This fanfiction world isn't _our_ world, it's a world I made up, just to straighten out any confusion. Off we go! I'm going to be putting the disclaimer at the end from now on, so yay!

Oh, to RoguefanAM: It's perfectly fine! It was just a little curiosity on my part. No need to feel sorry!

**P.S: **Argh, fanfictions dividers aren't working, goddammit. The 0's are the dividers for now.

000000000  
**  
Chapter 7**

_Hijacking is Dangerous_

000000000

"Okay so, Cloud you can be like, my uncle's buddy and Leon can be your boyfriend. Me and Leon can go in and I can slip the money and stuff on the counter while we go into the bathroom. Cloud can get the car working, drive up to that window there, and we'll jump in. Oh, switch the car's tag with another one, so that it'll take them a while to find us in the records." Riku ticked off as the three of them walked through the heavily populated streets of the city. Riku still wasn't sure what the place was called, but going by some of the store names it was Galbadia City.

Cloud eyed the teen.

"Riku, when did you learn to plan things like this…?"

"I lived with Kadaj. He does this stuff all the time." The teen shrugged. He was excited, but he hid it as well as he could. The only indication that he gave of his excitement were the creepy grins that would split his face every now and then. _I'm so close to finding it now! So_ goddamn _close I can taste it!_

On their way there they talked about the plan (Well, Cloud and Riku talked, Leon just sulked along behind) and managed to find something that wasn't too dangerous. Leon and Riku would enter the agency, Leon covering himself with a hooded jacket that he'd pulled on before they left, and Riku would small talk the receptionist. Leon would wait at the entrance until Cloud pulled up in the car, and then Riku would pull out the money, throw it on the desk, and hightail it out of the room.

They would somehow find a way out of the city, and then it would be smooth sailing. Riku liked the plan a lot—and if the receptionist was a woman, it would doubly work in his favor.

When the agency appeared in their line of sight, they went their separate ways. Cloud disappeared into the lot full of gleaming cars and Leon and Riku went into the lobby. Riku gave a silent cry of happiness when the receptionist looked up and appeared very, very female. Riku gave a saucy smirk as Leon leaned back against the wall near the door, waiting. The girl blushed darkly when her eyes rested on Riku's deep aquamarine. He leaned up against the counter and smiled.

"Hey there," he said lightly, looking behind her at the board of keys. The lobby was office-like, with the reception-desk, male and female bathrooms, some chairs for waiting customers, and doors behind the desk that led further into the office. There were two potted, tropical plants flanking the glass window doorway, one of which Leon was brushing up against. "What kind of rentals do you have?"

"Uh… well, we have a lot of the new Hawk versions… But I suppose a guy like you would want something more… masculine?" The girl gave a coy smile. Riku smiled back, but inside he was laughing at her. What kind of car would she recommend if he said that he was gay?

"And if I am?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in interest. She giggled and leaned back in her computer chair.

"We have a couple Jaguars… X54. Some nice Andolusions as well."

"Which would _you_ suggest?" The silver-haired teen asked. Well, at least she wasn't one of those slutty girls that Kadaj liked. Behind him, Leon rolled his eyes.

"How about _my_ car?" She giggled. Riku lifted his eyebrows and gave her a winning grin.

"I would, but I'm not actually supposed to be in the city right now."

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh?"

Riku gave a long-suffering sigh and put a pained look on his face as he pulled a sob-story out of his ass. "You won't tell anyone right?"

The girl shook her head.

"See, I come from a family that's… well… not very nice. My brother's such a horrible person. And so is my father. When my brother and I were younger see, he…" Riku stopped, pretending that it was far too painful to continue. The girl leaned forward in her chair.

"What did he do?" She whispered.

"He… he made me dress as a girl and… and…" Riku looked away, letting his hair shade his eyes. "Forced me to… to… 'play' with my brother."

The girl let out a gasp and Riku pretended to flinch. "You probably think I'm so disgusting now…"

"No of course I don't!" The girl cooed, leaning up and putting her hand on Riku's gently. "You were right to run away from people like them…"

When Riku looked at her, his eyes were glistening. "R-really?" He whispered. If Leon had been the kind of person to let his jaw drop, it would have been on the floor. But because he was Leon, all he did was give Riku a slightly bewildered stare.

When the girl opened her mouth to console him, all hell broke loose.

Leon started and then leapt away, just as a red Andolusion came crashing through the glass doorway. The metal on either side of the door bent, glass went everywhere, and the potted plant that Leon had just been standing next to was throws across the room. Riku flipped around as the receptionist screamed and stared in horror. The driver's door opened and Cloud waved at them both, his eyes panicked.

"Get the hell in the car!" He snarled. Leon shook off his shock and pushed Cloud out of the driver's seat. Riku, baffled for a moment, forgot what he was supposed to do. The girl behind him had stopped screaming and was scrambling for the phone. Riku shook his head, tossed the money on the desk, and leapt into the car, sliding over Leon and into the middle seat. He was cramped between the two older men, but at the moment, he didn't really care.

As soon as Riku was in the car, Leon backed it up and then floored it. The car flew out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell, and then they raced towards one of the main roads.

It took Riku a moment to catch his sanity.

"What the _fuck_ just happened?" He snarled. Leon and Riku both looked at Cloud expectantly. The blonde was anxiously looking behind them, his head hanging out of the passenger side window.

"I was recognized," He said quickly, turning back to the road in front of him. Leon was slowing down now. "I suggest you get out if this city as fucking _fast as possible_."

Leon snapped his gaze to Cloud. "Who was it?"

"Hojo." The blonde said acidly. Leon's eyes widened, and then the sound of sirens broke through the traffic air.

"_Shit._" And then he floored it again.

Riku clung to his seat for dear life as they rocketed down the busy street, weaving through traffic with a desperate edge. Whoever this Hojo guy was, he must have been a nasty bastard to have _Leon_ nervous.

Riku started as a loud crack filled the air, and one of the rearview mirrors burst into pieces. Cloud groaned and Leon ground his teeth. "They have guns?" Riku yelped.

"So do we," Leon growled then. "Take the wheel." And he turned around and slid into the backseat. Riku yelped as he grabbed the steering-wheel, turning the car as they were about to crash into a mail-box. He slid into the driver's seat and punched the gas with a cry.

"I can't drive!"

Cloud looked horror-struck and Leon just pulled out a menacing Gunblade (Riku had wondered what he'd been hiding in his huge duffel bag…). He fitted bullets into it quickly, ignoring the crisis in the front seat. Riku yelped as they sped through a red light, and then dragged the steering-wheel to the right, only scathing the car that was heading towards him. Cloud was thrown against Riku as the boy slammed the gas and sped off towards an area that was less populated. It was then that they noticed the sirens were _right behind them_.

"Oh dear god," the teen whimpered as he jerked through traffic. "Who have I brought with me?"

Leon leaned out the backseat window, aimed the Gunblade, and shot at something. Cloud was clinging to his seatbelt, looking both angry and afraid.

"Keep going straight!" The blonde said, "And turn when I tell you!"

Riku did as he was told, and whenever Cloud told him to hang a right, he did so. Leon only shot the gun twice, (apparently he shot out the police cars tires or something) and then he turned back around. His Gunblade lay at his side and he stared ahead, expression stony. Riku could hear the sirens, but they were getting fainter and fainter, and soon the buildings started to thin out and get smaller. Before he knew it, there were no longer buildings. Instead huge, fenced in grassy fields passed by the windows.

After an hour of driving along in this grassy land, Cloud finally spoke.

"Alright Riku, we can stop now. I'll take over."

Riku immediately turned the car onto the side of the road, and then punched the break. The car slammed to a screeching halt, and if they all hadn't been wearing seatbelts, the windshield wouldn't be there anymore.

"Okay, first driving lesson," Cloud mumbled once he'd recovered. "Apply the brake _slowly_."

Riku mumbled something under his breath and unhooked his seatbelt. Cloud did the same (and put the car in park) climbing out and circling the front to the driver's side. Riku just slid over into the passenger's seat and slumped down with a thick sigh. Cloud jumped in, adjusted the seat, mirrors, and the steering wheel, and then pulled out of the grass and back onto the road. Leon still sat in the back next to the bags, Gunblade across his lap.

The car was silent.

After about half-an-hour of Cloud driving, Riku staring out the window, and Leon dozing, the teen finally broke. "I'm sorry."

Cloud blinked and glanced at him. The road was pretty much empty, and on either side of them were vast expanses of grass and trees. In the distance, if one looked hard enough, they could see the outline of a large mountain range.

"For what?" the blonde asked. Riku closed his eyes.

"… I… didn't realize just how desperately the army's after you guys. I thought that maybe you'd just done something small, like theft, but I didn't know… that they'd be angry enough to shoot at you."

Cloud frowned. "You've been thinking about this for a while."

Riku nodded. He had accepted that Cloud and Leon did not want to be seen by the army, but he'd put it off as a small thing. The reality that the army had just chased and _shot_ at them was alarming, and it shocked the boy. What did these two do?

Then he'd remembered. This morning, Cloud had said that he'd been "programmed" to look into computer files. Riku knew that the army was a separate entity from the royal family, and that they set their own goals and methods, ignorant of anyone else. Yazoo and Kadaj had explained to him that the army wasn't something to tangle with. They defended the royal family and the people, but only because the family didn't persecute them against serious crimes.

Was the army doing things to people? People like Cloud, who had a strange, green glow in the depths of his eyes? Cloud, who could touch a car with his hand and make it turn on for him, without a key?

…Had he been a product of the same thing?

He'd shaken his head. No. He wasn't "mutated" or anything. He'd been disfigured, but there was nothing really different about him.

Was there?

"Is the army after you because you can dig into computers?" The teen asked. Cloud looked at him for a moment, as if debating, and then he returned his gaze to the road.

"Yes and no." The blonde said. "I'd be invaluable if I joined the army, that's true, but it's also the army that did this to me."

Riku looked away. "How…?"

"…" Cloud sighed. "Have you ever heard of Mako energy?"

Riku nodded. "My uncle's company distributes it."

"Mako is a substance of the earth. It's harvested for many reasons—you can use it to power homes like electricity, it can be used to enhance the potency of medicines, and it can strengthen metals. It's a very sought after substance. If a person is exposed to Mako energy for extended periods of time… things… happen." Cloud gave a weak shrug. "People change. They can develop physical deformities, mental illnesses… strange abilities…"

Riku looked out the window. He hadn't known those things about Mako… all he'd known was that his uncle was rich because of it. "So… you were exposed to it?"

Cloud gave a small nod. "I still have a lot of problems because of it. That's… that's why I didn't live with Yuffie and Aerith. I'm too messed up to ruin their lives—the lives they'd built for themselves. It doesn't sit well with me."

Riku nodded. He could understand that. He felt something for Cloud, but it was something he couldn't recognize. It wasn't pity… it was just… understanding. Nothing more than that.

Riku didn't speak after that. He leaned against the passenger-side window, watching as the fields dissolved into trees, and the land begin to move upwards. He watched the sun carve its path through the sky, and the clouds shift slowly above them. It wasn't until dusk set in that Cloud pulled off the road and stopped the car. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes with a heavy sigh.

"Man. It's been a long time since I've driven for this long." He mumbled, cracking his neck. Leon was staring out the window in the backseat, his eyes half-lidded. "C'mon Riku, Leon. I don't know about you, but I really have to pee. I have to switch the license plate too."

Riku silently complied, unbuckling himself and sliding out of the car. Once his feet were placed on the pavement of the road, he lifted his arms and stretched, working out the knots that had developed from sitting for far too long. He trotted after Cloud to relieve himself, and when he came back Leon handed him some onigiri. The teen blinked at the food, his stomach suddenly protesting loudly. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast…

"Thanks Leon," The teen muttered, taking the two offered onigiri and biting into one. He leaned against the car as he watched Cloud remove the license plate and replace it. He must have taken it off of another car in the area. Once that was done, Cloud stood and Leon handed him some food as well, finally taking a bite of his own.

They were silent as they ate and relished in their break time.

"I found a map in the trunk," Cloud said when he'd finished eating, fishing out a pamphlet sized piece of paper from his pocket. "Let's see where we are."

The blonde opened the map and flattened it on the trunk of their red car. "Alright, here's Galbadia," the blonde muttered, pointing to the labeled spot on the map. The crisscrossing lines confused Riku, but he tried his best to stay focused. "We have to pass through Djose, and then through Treno. After that we'll be near the mountains."

"Nebelheim Mountains." Leon spoke. He was looking at Cloud, his expression unreadable. The blonde pretended not to hear him.

"The school is on the outskirts of Balamb City. I'll bet you can see the city from the school…" Cloud said. "I know where we're headed now. It'll probably take a couple of days for us to reach Balamb, unless one of us wants to sleep during the day and drive at night." Cloud shrugged. "If we're able to drive that long, we might be there by tomorrow night. I mean, _late_ tomorrow night."

"What about fuel?" Riku spoke up for the first time. Cloud tapped the trunk.

"I took four gallons before I was spotted, so we'll be good I think."

"I can drive at night," Leon said, leaning against the car. "If it'll get us there faster."

"Alright." Cloud nodded.

"I'll take the backseat." Riku said, pushing away from the car. Cloud folded the map and went to the passenger's side of the car while Leon went to the driver's seat. As soon as they were all situated, Leon restarted the car and continued forward.

Riku noticed the different driving styles immediately. Cloud was careless when he drove, often slumping in his seat while using just one hand to steer. Leon however, sat up straight and kept both hands on the wheel, always attentive.

Riku turned to his window and watched the scenery go by. Leon must have put his Gunblade away and set the bags on the floor. As the land grew darker and darker, Riku picked up gentle snoring from Cloud, who'd fallen into a deep sleep against the window. He couldn't blame the guy—he'd been up all night the day before.

Soon the lull of the motor and the vision of the passing trees caused Riku's eyes so droop to half-mast. Before he knew what was going on, he too, had fallen into sweet dreamland.

000000000

His phone was ringing again.

With a groan, Sora slapped his book closed and leaned over to his bedside table, picking up the device and holding it to his ear. "Hello So—"

"Sora."

Sora froze. He knew that voice. He'd know it even if he wasn't awake. The brunette gulped thickly, his hand tightening on the phone. He hoped the other person didn't hear the crack of the plastic. "Hello. I… haven't heard from you in a while."

"I've been busy." The voice muttered, curt and cold as ever. Sora licked his lips with a suddenly very dry tongue. "We'll need you in three hours."

"Isn't… that's very short notice." Sora muttered, shifting on the bed. He grabbed his paupu shaped pillow and hugged it to his chest, slowly resigning himself to the task.

"Were you planning something?" The voice asked sharply. Sora winced. He knew very well that he was never to plan anything after eight o'clock. He'd learned his lesson.

"No… I… have a lot of homework."

"You will be there." And then they hung up. Sora sat, listening to the dial tone for a moment before setting his phone back into it's cradle. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He could do this. He'd done it so many times before. But… that still didn't mean he was used to it.

Sora set his books aside, knowing that he wouldn't get anything more done tonight. He stood from his bed and went into the bathroom, pulling out the first aid kit and setting it next to the sink. He opened it and left the bathroom light on as he left. In his closet he dug out a plain white T-shirt and some dull shorts that he didn't particularly care for and changed into them, not bothering to put on boxers beneath them. He didn't want to ruin his boxers—he couldn't afford to buy new ones.

He spent the rest of his time preparing himself for what he was about to do. When the doorbell rang, his eyes snapped open, and he was ready.

But never, ever willing.

000000000

When Riku woke, he noticed that they were in another city. This one was smaller than Galbadia—and the buildings weren't nearly as high. He liked this one much better—if felt less cramped.

The teen sat up with a groan, arching his back and stretching with a yawn. His hand fell to his stomach and he scratched it, looking at the driver's seat. Leon and Cloud had switched some time when Riku had been sleeping, and now Leon was the one silently passing Z's against the window.

"Where are we?" He asked. Cloud's blue eyes flicked to the overhanging mirror and he smiled.

"Morning sunshine," he chuckled. Riku scowled but didn't retort—he was too disoriented. "We're near the edge of Djose. That much closer to the academy."

"Good." Riku mumbled, slumping back. "Can we stop somewhere to eat? I'm starving."

Cloud bent over for a moment, and then handed a brown paper bag into the backseat. Riku blinked and accepted the bag, opening it to find a breakfast sandwich and two hash browns.

"I stopped at a fast-food restaurant when Leon and I switched places." He said, smiling. Riku nodded his thanks and pulled out the food, quickly digging in. When he was finished, he crumpled his garbage up into a ball and stuffed it into his pack. The he leaned back and silently watched the scenery go by.

"Want to listen to the radio?" Cloud asked when the silence became so thick, one could slice through it with a knife. Riku blinked and looked forward, then he shrugged.

"Sure, why not."

Cloud leaned forward and turned the radio on, lowering the volume so it wouldn't bother Leon too much. Riku went back to leaning against the door, staring out at the scenery as he listened silently to the words.

"—_awlin' oh, I reach for you. Well I'm terrified of these four walls, these iron bars can't hold my soul in, all I need is you. Come, please, I'm callin'! And oh, I scream for you. Hurry I'm fallin'… I'm fallin'…_"

Riku frowned. Those lyrics stirred something in his chest. It felt like something deep inside of him had just rolled over and was exposing itself to him, but he couldn't reach it. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and turned all of his attention to the song, trying to reach that strange shifting feeling.

"_Show me what it's like, to be the last one standing, and teach me wrong from right, and I'll show you what I can be, say it for me, say it to me, and I'll leave this life behind me, say it if it's worth savin'_ _me_!"

Riku suddenly found himself tossed into that exposed feeling, and when he floundered around in it, he discovered something he never wanted to see. His breath caught and his face paled—a cold-sweat breaking out over his face. The image hovered over his eyes, blocking out the view of the sidewalks and the buildings. The teen clenched the seat beneath him for some sort of stability, but it didn't work.

He felt it building up, trying desperately to push it away, but it roared forward and tore him in half.

He screamed.

000000000

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Nickleback's song _Savin' Me_ (but I love Nickleback). Also, the cars in this story are made up. You can just stick your favorite car into the image and paint it red. (I like red.)


	8. To See You

**Authors Notes: **Here's the chapter everyone's been waiting for! Yaaay! I've been trying to post this chapter for three days--but was being a bitch. Ugh. It finally put the chapter through!

Anyway...

Somehow this has turned into a school story! XD But don't worry, it won't stay that way for long. I have lots of little idea's I want to play with in this fic. I might change the summary too, make it more interesting… hehe.

Enjoy!

Ugh, and now the breaks aren't working again! Man, this week has just been horrible to me...

00000000000000000000

**Chapter 8**

_To See You…_

00000000000000000000

Cloud nearly swerved into another car and Leon leapt awake with a start. Riku curled up on himself and let out another scream—the terrified sound that tore through Cloud and Leon like a siren bell in the midst of a blazing fire. The blonde cursed and quickly turned the car onto a residential street, pulling it easily onto the curb once they reached an empty section of the street. Leon had already turned around and was looking at Riku like he was some kind of rabid animal.

Cloud scowled and wished that Leon wasn't so emotionally constipated as he unbuckled himself and turned around, slipping into the back-seat and grabbing Riku's shoulder.

"Riku what's wrong?" He asked urgently, his face twisted in concern as the boy flinched heavily against his touch. The music was still playing, and Cloud turned to Leon. "Turn the damn radio off!"

Leon quickly followed his order, and soon the car was silent once again, save for Riku's heavily labored breathing. Cloud grabbed the boy's shoulder firmly and turned him so that he was forced to look at Cloud.

Riku's eyes were dilated and his face was as white as a sheet. There were no tears in his eyes, but his breathing was rough and choppy, as if he'd just run a mile without a break.

"Calm down," Cloud said gently, taking Riku's face into his hands and staring him in the eye. "Look at me, and only me."

Riku gulped thickly and shakily grabbed Cloud's hands, squeezing them for leverage as he focused his eyes. Cloud nodded, brushing the edges of the boy's eyes with his thumbs. "Good Riku. Just look at me."

"C-co-cor—" The boy tried to say, but Cloud shook his head.

"Just concentrate on me Riku." Cloud said quietly. He'd wished he'd never have to do this again. He'd done it so many times before…

The teen gulped again and kept his eyes on Cloud. The blonde was drawing soothing circles on the boy's cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, and soon Riku's breathing began to even out. His eyes closed and he leaned forward, slipping past Cloud's hands and thumping his forehead on the blonde's shoulder. Cloud lifted an arm and ran it through the teen's hair as he recovered.

After a moment, Riku pulled away and lifted a hand to cover his eyes. "I'm sorry…" He whispered hoarsely. Cloud shook his head.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Leon was watching them both tensely, obviously frustrated that he wasn't any good with emotional stress.

"That song…" Riku said, his hand sliding down to cover his mouth. "It… it made me think of something."

Cloud's brow furrowed and Leon frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I… think it was something I forgot." Riku looked up at Cloud. "I… it… it was… a dead woman."

The blonde looked slightly shocked. "A dead woman?"

Riku nodded, still slightly shaken. His body was shivering. "I've… never seen anything so grotesque." He muttered. "She'd been ripped open—and… and she looked… looked like she was in pain. She was on the floor of a house I think, and there was blood all over the place."

Leon's brow furrowed and Cloud looked at Riku, not sure what to say. He looked at Leon, and then back at Riku.

"I… don't know what that might have been Riku but… maybe we shouldn't play the radio anymore."

The teen shook his head immediately. He was recovering nicely now. "No if… if the music makes me remember, I want to listen."

Cloud frowned. "Are you sure…?"

Riku nodded, moving away from Cloud. "I'll be fine. I'll know what to expect now… It just surprised me is all."

Cloud looked at Leon again, seemingly asking for help, but Leon just closed his eyes and returned to his previous position. Cloud sighed and climbed back into his seat. "Alright… if you're sure…"

The blonde turned the radio back on, and then he started driving again. Riku listened hard, but nothing more stirred. When night began to fall and they stopped for a break, Riku found himself sorely disappointed.

Leon and Cloud switched in the drivers seat, and off they continued. Riku fell asleep before Cloud, and his mind was as blank as a sheet. Nothing.

00000000000000000000

"Riku…"

The teen pried his eyes open and sat up, using one hand to rub the sleep away. "Are we there?"

Cloud nodded as he slipped out of the car. Riku sat up quickly and opened the door, nearly stumbling over himself in his haste. When he stood outside the car, he froze, his eyes widening.

The school was gigantic.

The rest of their ride had been uneventful, unless one called Cloud snoring interesting. Riku had slept until Cloud woke him up a few hours later, and here he stood, watching the lights flicker in the night beneath him. The school was further down, and Leon had parked the car on a ledge over-looking the huge academy.

"It's big…" Riku breathed as the wind roughly pulled his hair around his face. He brushed the tendrils away with an annoyed grunt and stared down at it. There were scattered lights everywhere, and he could make out a couple of tiny fountains from this height, placed around the mid-courtyard. The buildings made a sort of rhombus shape around the central courtyard, which had a few buildings as well as cultivated gardens. It looked very proper. "But… _it's_ down there…"

Cloud sighed lightly from behind, and Riku turned around. Leon was watching the academy as well, but his brow was furrowed. The teen frowned and tore himself away from the huge, glittering academy below. "What's wrong?"

"How are we," Cloud gestured to him and Leon vaguely, "going to get in there?"

Riku frowned thoughtfully. A multitude of ideas flashed through his mind and he sifted through them. "Cloud… you're good with computers right…?"

The blonde deadpanned.

"Alright, here's what we'll do…"

0000000000000000000

Sora knew he should have stayed in bed that morning.

If the ache in his side hadn't convinced him, then his tumble down the stairs should have sealed it. But no. Sora wasn't a quitter. He never gave up on _anything_. Never ever.

Even when he was in the bathroom, coughing up blood.

He heaved a shaky sigh and placed the back of his hand against his mouth. His stomach had finally stopped rebelling against him, but now he was a horrible mess. He smelled disgusting too.

Good thing he'd thought to bring an extra set of clothes! It'd become habit after one of "those" nights to pack an extra set of clothes.

The young brunette shakily stood up and flushed the toilet, taking some toilet paper to clean off his mouth and hand. He swallowed repeatedly, trying to rid his mouth of the disgusting taste that had settled itself there. Once his hand was clean he quickly changed into his extra uniform, putting the soiled and bloodstained one into a plastic bag and burying into the deep recesses of his backpack. He shouldered it and stumbled out of the stall towards the sink. He quickly washed his hands and face, and then left the room, trying not to look at himself in the mirror.

Ugh, last night had been beyond horrible. He should have told them to stop the first time they'd asked, but nooo, Sora _wasn't_ a quitter. Sometimes he really regretted that, but eh. He'd get over it in a few hours…

He hung out around the courtyard for the next half-hour, composing himself and waiting for his body to stop thrumming with nausea. When the school bell rang—indicating that the students could now enter their classrooms without being bitched at—he pivoted on his heel and made his way to his Physics class.

It was a crisp morning. The kind of morning that promised a nice, cool day ahead. There was mist hovering over the gently glowing cultivated lawns, and it was morning in every sense of the word. The sun had yet to make it over the mountain range, but Sora could see the golden glow rimming the rock. He always liked mountains… they were so odd.

What lump in the earth wasn't odd? It was interesting.

In his musing, Sora's legs had taken him to his first period class and he slipped inside without a word, his body taking him to his seat out of habit. He un-shouldered his bag, set it on the floor beside his desk, and leaned back with a thick sigh.

"Sora!"

The brunette turned in his chair and mentally gave another sigh. On the outside however, he pasted on a smile and waved at Selphie, who had snuck into the seat behind him. She grinned back at him.

"Have you heard about the new kid?" She asked in a rush. Sometimes Selphie spoke too fast for anyone to understand, but Sora—having known her for a year and a half—had gotten pretty much used to it.

"Nope," he replied, "I haven't heard much of anything. Oh, well Roxas told me Axel asked him out yesterday…"

Selphie suddenly squealed. "I was there!" She cried with a giggle. "It was so cute! Axel and Roxas were just talking to each other and when Roxas said something, Axel just bent down and smooch!" She giggled. "Roxas was soooo embarrassed! Axel asked him if he would go out with him, and Roxas said yes!"

Oh boy… Roxas hated too much public attention—'specially from girls. Sora knew that whatever Roxas had planned for him, it wasn't going to be very nice.

"I told you that those two would make the perfect couple!" Selphie gushed. Sora laughed lightly.

"I think so too."

Selphie opened her mouth to spew some more gossip, but the sudden flood of students into the classroom stopped her. What that meant was that the teacher was here, and that Selphie would have to wait to rant at Sora. She gave him a happy little wave as she moved back to her seat, and Sora turned around to face the front of the class, pulling out his materials.

The door slammed closed then, and in strolled their teacher. Mr. Turin—or as he liked his students to call him, Demyx—threw his book on the desk and crossed his arms as he waited for the students to silence themselves.

It only took his look to stop any words in their throats. Demyx gave a small smirk. His brown mohawk, tipped in blonde, rippled as he nodded to his students.

"Alrighty kiddies, today we'll be going over a few theories and formula's designed by our favorite researchers." Demyx rolled his eyes. "But now you guys are gonna say hi to a new kid. I know how annoying newbies are, but c'mon, you guys were newbies once too so show the guy a little respect." The Physics teacher leaned against his desk and nodded at the door. "'Kay kid, come in."

Sora blinked as the door opened.

_Ohmigodit'sagod! _Was the first thing he could comprehend.

The boy that walked in the classroom could have easily fit that description. He had long, silky silver-hair, Caribbean eyes, and beautiful alabaster skin. He was wearing a black turtleneck underneath a white vest that covered his arms. The navy pants he wore were slightly baggy, but they looked really good on him.

"Obviously he hasn't bought a uniform yet, but that's okay 'cause he's new. Anyway, introduce yourself." Demyx waved at the class vaguely. He too was eyeing Riku appreciatively—but there was no one in the class who _wasn't_.

"I'm Riku Saru, sixteen years old. I just came up from the south." He gave a shrug. "My… parents wanted me to join the military school, and I thought it was a good idea."

And then he looked right at Sora. Square, dead in the eye. The brunette found himself frozen for a moment—something in his brain flashing lights and telling him that he should _know_ something, but that something just wasn't coming to life. He shook it off then.

Must be hormones…

00000000000000000000

_This was it!_ Riku was _ten feet away_ from the color that he'd been searching for—the last link he had to his missing past. Right there, looking like an adorable little mouse in the way he was blushing at his intense stare. Riku fought the urge to wet his lips, instead he stuffed his hands into his pockets as Demyx pointed to a seat behind a brown-haired girl who had a rather peppy look all about her. The teen was disappointed that he was two rows away from the beautiful brunette boy.

He walked over to the desk and set his new pack down on the floor beside him. Classrooms weren't new to him—he'd taken a few classes at his uncles office of business affairs when he'd become a bit too annoying to hang around. He liked classrooms—especially when they were full of people. For some reason they gave him a sense of comfort and warmth. He suspected that it was because it was one of the first environments he'd been allowed to enter in the earliest stages of his rehabilitation.

It had taken Cloud three days to completely route the computer system in the school to include Riku as the new transfer student. During the time Cloud was digging around as stealthily as he could at the nearby Balamb City's library—which wasn't much of a city, more like a seaport town—Leon had taken Riku 'apartment hunting'. Riku swore to himself that he would find something much more suitable than Cloud's old hovel, and a place that wasn't very expensive either.

They'd settled on a two bedroom apartment that fit all three of them—Riku on the pull out couch, and Cloud and Leon in their own rooms—rather comfortably. Leon had done all the legal stuff, and within a few hours of negotiation, they had a place to stay. Riku bought a computer so that Cloud could stay at the apartment and work (much, _much_ safer). Once Cloud had routed Riku into the schools system—and had kindly gotten him a dorm on the campus, all that was needed was a ride.

And boom—here he was, sitting in the classroom of a military academy, with "parent's" that he knew were neither dating, nor opposite genders. Plus, they were military runaways (or so it seemed).

Riku was almost overwhelmed by just how fortunate he was to have gotten here.

Demyx started talking, and it brought Riku out of his daze. He sat up straighter—as he'd been taught—and stared straight ahead, but he found his eyes lingering on the brunette boy with the blue eyes. He didn't even know his name.

"Now, can anyone tell me the formula to find the pressure exerted on a round surface that is three feet in diameter?"

Hands flew up into the air, including the brunette's. Demyx waved in a vague direction and the brown haired boy answered the question. Riku listened to the soft lilt of his voice as if it was a peace of heaven. He grinned to himself.

The class went as any class went—to Riku anyway. A tinkling bell sounded to mark the end, and before Riku could race after the brunette carrying his blue, Demyx called him up to the desk. The silver-haired teen mentally snarled, but came up to the desk and looked at Demyx expectantly. The mohawked teacher explained his homework policy and all of the things a student needed to know to survive in his class—which was basically along the lines of: No screaming, no fighting, no cheating, and no lost shirts, pants, or underwear.

When he was dismissed, Riku desperately hoped that the cute little brunette boy would be with him for a second period, but such wasn't the case. He wasn't in third period either, but forth period was where Riku's luck started looking up.

It was a Phys. Ed class. Riku was allowed to wear the clothes he'd brought with him because he still hadn't bought all the uniforms required. He was instructed to sit and watch for the first few minutes because the P.E. teacher, a lumbering guy named Lexaeus, didn't want to explain the process to him. Actually he didn't really say anything. He'd just pointed to a bench, and Riku had taken the hint.

The students were dressed in either tank-top shirts or T-shirts and shorts. The brunette boy was amazingly quite tanned—as if he liked to be in the sun a lot—compared to the paleness that seemed to clutch to the others. Actually, he looked like he'd been outside most of his life. Riku found himself a little envious of that tan, but shook it off.

It was still warm outside up north, but not as unbearably so as it had been in the desert or in Galbadia. Riku found it actually quite pleasant.

The students all lined up in perfect order, and Lexaeus seemed to count each head. He checked something off on his clipboard and waved at the students, who immediately began a warm-up routine in almost perfect sync. Riku found that a little unnerving.

"Five laps," the teacher said then. His voice was thick, and it didn't need to be any more than a whisper to get the students attention. He waved Riku over to the group of kids, and the teen wondered why he'd been set out in the first place.

_Probably so I could memorize that warm-up thing…_

He joined the other kids at a slight jog as they made their way to the track out in the middle of the field. He kept an eye on the brunette boy, but didn't move any closer. He didn't want to say anything until after school, when he could talk to the boy alone.

He kept up, slowing his pace so that he could stay behind the brunette, but not too close. Suddenly a boy passed him—blonde, with shortish straight hair and mischievous blue eyes.

"Hey Sora!" He said to the brunette suddenly. The boy looked a little startled, and then gave a nervous smile.

"Z-Zidane…"

Riku grinned. _Sora_… He mouthed the name, letting the silent letters roll around on his tongue. If felt so familiar that he was startled. Riku returned to listening in on the conversation between the two boys, his hope swirling happily in his chest.

"So Sora," Zidane inquired, looking curious, "You were here early again. What for? I mean, I know you're an overachiever but there's no need to get to school _three hours_ early."

Sora looked surprised for a second, and then he avoided Zidane's eyes. "How'd you know I got here early…?"

Zidane blinked. "My brother has to walk by the school to get to work, and he told me that he saw you walking around at five in the morning."

Sora shrugged. "I just felt like coming early… I don't have a roommate to keep me company."

Riku frowned. He knew that that was a lie. He didn't know how he knew, but it might have been the way Sora refused to look at Zidane completely when he said it.

"I see…" The blonde still looked doubtful, but dropped the subject. "So, I hear Roxas and Axel are goin' out."

Sora looked up and nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Geez, I was wondering when one would ask the other out. I mean, Axel was obsessive, and Roxas was just a step below that," Zidane chuckled. "Y'know, I wonder why he liked Roxas more than you. I mean, you guys are like, almost twins."

Sora shrugged. "Roxas is more interesting then me I guess… I mean, he's the guy everyone likes right?"

Zidane looked thoughtful. "Yeah I guess so. I mean, he's a lot cooler than you. But you're the guy everyone likes to hang around too. You must have _something_ that they like."

Riku bit his tongue. So this Zidane was one of _those_ people; the kind that could insult without actually paying attention. Kadaj was a lot like that, and Riku knew how it felt to be belittled in such a flippant way.

Sora's voice was slightly subdued. "Ha, maybe it's because I'm a good shoulder to cry on."

Zidane laughed. "Yeah, I'll bet that's it. Well, see ya around Sora!" And the young blonde picked up speed, running forward to talk to his next victim.

Sora was looking a little shot down. Riku sighed to himself, cursing the flippant Zidane as he increased his pace.

"Hey," Riku smiled as the brunette's head shot up. There was only one lap left—and this was his last chance if he didn't have any more classes with him.

Sora's eyes grew big and he spluttered for a second before regaining composure. "H-hello."

Riku mentally smirked. "I saw you in first period," He said with a grin. Sora blushed a little and nodded.

"Y-yeah…"

Goodness he was a cute one. "Say…" he asked quietly, "Do I look… familiar to you?"

Sora blinked and looked at him, his eyes trailing up and down his body. The clothes that hid his body weren't terrible on him, and his silver hair was sticking to his forehead with the heat of the sun combined with his physical actions. The brunette blushed again.

"As a matter of fact, you do a little…" The brunette frowned. "But I can't place it…"

"Don't worry about it," _for now_, "Anyway, I'm Riku."

"S-Sora…"

Awww! Riku gave a grin. "You're cute."

Sora's face burst into flame at that, and his run faltered slightly. He looked at Riku with his wide blue eyes—a spark went off when Riku realized that _his_ blue was standing _right here_—and spluttered once again.

"I-I am?" He finally managed. Riku's grin softened into a gentle look.

"I don't like to lie," he said. Sora's blush was still there when he gave a warm, thankful smile.

Before Riku could speak further, the coach blew a whistle and all the kids on the track immediately stopped running and hurried over to him. Lexaeus waited until everyone was in a perfect line, and then he pointed at the ground. Every student dropped and began doing push-ups—Riku included.

_I really don't want to know what these guys endured to get so obedient._ He thought to himself. He looked at Sora beside him and found himself smiling.

He'd find his memories. He was sure of it.

00000000000000000000

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts no own.

**P.S: **I'd like to thank all my reviewers! You guys rock! You're the ones that keep me going:tear:


	9. With You

**Authors Notes: **Iiiit's a new chapter!

Man, FF dot net is being tempermental lately. Did someone hack into it or something? O-o

Ah well. Ugh. I'm so mad at FireFox. It locked up on me yesterday and didn't work when I restarted my compy, so I went to reinstall it, and I lost ALL OF MY FAVORITES. Gah. I had sooo much stuff in there, (Two years worth at least…) from AMV's on YouTube to all the really good fanfics I hadn't finished/reviewed yet. :cries:

Ah well… here's the story! We finally get a teeny bit of romance in this chapter. But it is a little short… and kinda filler... I'm sorry! Chapter ten is nearly done!

Oh yeah! Another amazing thing… chapter nine is the furthest I've ever gotten in a fic… Mwahaha! I've passed my line-up! Woo!

0000000000000000000

**Chapter 9**

_With You_

0000000000000000000

After P.E was lunch. The lunches were in three segments to keep from crowding the cafeteria, and even though he tried desperately, Riku couldn't find Sora. He gave up after the first twenty minutes, and then went over to a tree in the lunch-yard to eat the small cakes that Cloud had bought from a local jiffy store around the corner from their apartment.

He sat alone in the shade and people passed him by, joining in with their own friends. Girls blushed and giggled when they passed him, and boys sometimes gave a wave, but none moved to join him. He didn't care either way—he was only here for Sora.

He watched the people talk amongst themselves and found himself envying them. He'd never had people like that, as far as he could remember. Kadaj and Yazoo had made sure that he didn't kill himself with a screwdriver but they didn't talk to him or laugh with him (unless he did something stupid in his ignorance, like the gas incident). His uncle wasn't often around, but when he was it was only for a short time. Plus, the business man wasn't a very talkative person.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Riku was pulled from his thoughts and towards a pair of jade-green eyes. The eyes blinked, and Riku backed his vision up to study the person better. He looked to be about eighteen, with flaming spiky red hair and diamond tattoos beneath his eyes.

"Actually, this is usually my tree, but hey, I'm willing to share."

Riku shook off his bewilderment at being spoken to and shrugged. The boy flopped down beside him and started digging in to his double-cheeseburger.

"You the new kid everyone's been talking about?" The red-head started. Riku looked at him.

"I suppose so."

The boy smirked. "We don't usually get new guys after the first semester. It's about as rare as a flying penguin."

Using intelligence in his sarcasm… Riku found himself amused by the red-heads conversation. "Riku."

"Axel," he said automatically, taking a huge bite of his burger. "I saw you talking to Sora out on the track from my classroom."

Riku blinked. So this guy knew Sora? "I was."

Suddenly the jade-green grew darker as Axel sized him up. The only thing that moved were his eyes. He looked as if he'd just murdered someone and had no qualms about doing it again. "Don't you dare hurt him." He said. Riku repressed the urge to shiver. "He's got enough shit going on, and he doesn't need a messed up crack-head screwing him up even more."

Riku, even though that look gave him the jitters, was insulted. "I'm not fucked-up!" He seethed. In his opinion, he was a hell of a lot better off than Kadaj. "And don't jump to conclusions like that," he growled, "you don't even know me!"

Axel's eyes lightened and he smirked. Riku found himself slightly relieved. "Just warning you."

Riku grumbled something darkly. "What did you mean, he's already got enough shit going on?"

Axel shrugged. "You know, his parents barely know he exists, crap going on with the military guys… the usual problems kids here have."

Riku looked sullen. "That includes you?"

"Yup," Axel said cheerfully, "My dad shot my mom and then he shot my dog when he was high. He said they were aliens. Then he shot himself. Typical sob story—happened when I was three." He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I don't care about it anymore. Couldn't remember much of it anyway—I was sleeping in my room. Anyway, you got any interesting home stories?"

Riku shrugged and thought for a moment. He didn't remember anything about his past, but maybe he could figure something out. A slow smirk spread over his face when he remembered something particularly amusing.

"My parents are both men," he said easily. "Nothing more than that."

Axel turned and blinked at him. "Huh, that's new." He laughed lightly. "So are you adopted or something?"

Riku was tempted to say that Leon had impregnated Cloud through genetic mutation, but decided to keep it realistic. "Adopted." He lied. "When I was a few months old. They wanted the youngest baby they could find."

"Man, you don't see people like that around any more." Axel said lightly, eating the last bit of his burger. "No one wants families that much 'cause they're too lazy to take care of their kids right, and when they don't take care of 'em, the kids grow up screwups. You ever heard of Sephiroth?"

"Sephiroth…?" The name was bloody familiar, like Sora's name when he spoke it aloud. It pinched at him annoyingly.

Axel nodded. "They say he was genetically made. Grown out of a test tube. He had mental problems when he grew up—dark ass kid. He worshipped death and evil like it was holy, and then started saying his mother was Jenova, the machine that he was grown out of, and that he was to bring about the Reunion of all of her children so that they could destroy the planet."

Riku's eyebrow rose. "Wow…"

Axel shrugged. "But I've never met the guy, so I've got no place judging him."

The silver-haired teen blinked. Huh. No one had ever really said something like that to him before. "Hn."

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, and then Axel stood up once he was finished with his hamburger. "After school, Sora usually comes to the ice-cream shop on the market side of the school. We all go there." he smirked and waved as he walked off. Riku blinked and smiled slightly. That Axel guy wasn't so bad.

Just as Axel disappeared into the roiling mass of bodies that was the cafeteria, the tinkling bell rang, and Riku stood up. There were only two classes left now. The teen looked at his schedule and walked off to class, keeping Axel's words in mind.

0000000000000000000

When the academy released its students, Riku hung around the outer gates and waited. He'd raced to get there before Sora, and was now scanning the crowd of students, looking for that distinctive brown mop of hair.

At last he spotted it—or at least he thought he'd spotted it. He noticed Axel's flaming hair immediately, and beside him walked a light brunette—a boy who _almost_ looked like Sora, but not quite. Riku could tell that the two of them were about the same height and build, but this boy had eyes that were just a smidge lighter than Sora's. He realized that this boy was the one sitting next to Sora in the picture that had started it all.

In real life he could see the difference in their eyes, but on the computer the soft change was nonexistant. Riku looked around for Sora, but upon no sight of him, frowned. Maybe Axel knew where he was?

Riku left his post and walked over to Axel. The red-head had stopped at a tree standing near the exit gate, and his friend was with him. The boy was quite short compared to Axel, who was almost as tall as Cloud. Axel's eyes flicked up and he caught Riku immediately. A smirk curled his lips. The boy standing beside him turned around and blinked at Riku.

"What happened to Sora?" The silver-haired teen asked immediately, looking at Axel. The red-head shrugged in a casual way.

"He had to use the bathroom."

The Sora-that-wasn't-exactly-Sora gave a small scowl. Axel blinked and then rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry Roxie," he laughed. The boy seemed to twitch at the name, but he let it slide. "This is Roxas by the way. My boyfreind." Axel grinned, showing all of his shiny white teeth. "Roxie, this is Riku."

"Sora's new stalker." Roxas looked Riku up and down, a scathing expression in his eyes. Riku was starting to like him less and less.

"I'm not Sora's stalker," he growled.

Roxas' body suddenly tensed up and his eyes grew hard, as if he'd just thrown up a wall to pretect himself. Riku was a bit startled. _What the…?_

"Your voice is familiar… as a matter of fact, _you're_ familiar…" He said. Axel frowned and Riku's eyes sparked with hope.

"It is?" He asked, trying to hide the eargerness. "Do you… remember me from somewhere?"

Roxas gave him a calculating look. He was pretty cute actually—his hair tousled, not jumbled up in a mass of brown like Sora's. He was almost a head shorter than Riku, his nose reaching Riku's chin. He hugged his backpack to his chest like it was a stuffed animal.

Then he shook his head. Riku's hope dwindled, but didn't fade.

"Sorry guys…"

All three heads turned in the direction of said brown haired boy. Riku was startled. He looked a little pale and tired, but he still had that smile on his face. When he saw Riku a small blush covered his cheeks and he stopped next to Roxas.

"Are you okay?" Riku blurted, concerned. Seeing the paleness in Sora's tanned cheeks left something evil and slimy coiling in his gut—and he didn't like the feeling at all. Sora, Roxas, and Axel all gave him startled looks.

"Uh… yeah. Just feel a little sick is all…" Sora muttered, scratching his nose with a small grin. Roxas gave Sora a sad look.

"Are you sure you wanna come? I mean, you're obviously not feeling well…"

"No, I want to come! Ice cream helps my stomach most of the time." His grin was a little weak, but it was genuine.

"Can I come?" Riku asked, looking at Sora. The brunette blinked, and then he gave Riku a huge grin.

"Of course!" He said cheerfully. It was as if he'd suddenly gained all of his energy back. "Let's go before the locals flood the place!"

Riku smiled and followed after the three of them. For some reason it felt nice—traveling with people who knew him, if only from the few words.

00000000000000000000

Cloud sighed as he sat down at the new kitchen table. It was nice to have a real table—one that your knees didn't brush up against. He grunted and nursed his cup of tea with a content air. Once they'd dropped Riku off at the academy, he and Leon had returned to the town and their new apartment—telling Riku to call them once he got home.

The kid had grown on him, he hated to admit. He was full of himself and confident, but he was also a terribly good person deep down. He wasn't bothered about helping the boy—Riku probably needed some older people around to help him. If not Leon, then Cloud.

It was like having a naïve little brother, he mused. He knew that there were a lot of things in the world that Riku didn't recognize, but he never asked about them. Sooner or later he would figure out what they were, and all on his own. He didn't like asking for help, and he wondered how Leon had gotten Riku to agree to him tagging along. On second thought, he did know. When Leon had his mind set on something, it was like trying to get a stubborn chocobo to get up at two in the morning. Not happening.

Cloud sighed and looked at the balcony window. Riku's surplus of money had gotten them a good apartment, and the blonde really was grateful. But now he had to get down to business. He set down his tea and stood up, making his way outside.

Leon was leaning against the railing, a cigarette in hand. Cloud frowned at the burning thing as he joined the sulking brunette.

"Smoking causes cancer." He said. Leon shrugged.

"I'm not smoking it." He replied, looking at the cancerous thing in his hand.

"Second-hand smoke causes cancer too."

The brunette snorted and flicked the thing into the wind. Cloud chuckled lightly. They stood in silence for a long time. Cloud wondered if Leon would say anything, but it was a false hope. Leon never started conversations.

"Why didn't you take me with you…?" Cloud asked quietly. Leon bowed his head. He'd known this conversation was coming.

"I didn't want you bothering with me." He said after a long moment of silence. "If you'd been caught with me, things would have been a hell of a lot worse."

"You could have done something—written, called, sent a fucking messenger _bird_—but you didn't!" Cloud's hands clenched on the railing. "God dammit Squall, I thought you'd been _killed_! I had no idea if you even _existed_ anymore!"

Leon didn't say a thing—he didn't even try to correct Cloud about his name. He just looked depressed, out into the city. Cloud wasn't finished.

"And then, nearly three years later, you turn up at my doorstep with a _kid_ and ask that I help him? You didn't even come to see me on your own—it took the boy that made you _run away_ from yourself to show up again! You, Squall Leonhart, are a _coward_!"

Leon's mouth clenched and his grip on the railing was white-knuckled, but still, he didn't speak. Cloud took deep breaths, trying to reign in his anger and emotion.

"You ran away from _me_." His voice cracked and he squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to punch Leon, to smack him and just plain toss him over the balcony and laugh at his splattered body. "You left… without even a word…"

Leon closed his eyes. "Are you done yet?"

Cloud bristled. "Leon will you just _talk_ to me!"

The brunette looked away, grinding his teeth. Cloud seethed.

"You're still running away! Leon, what _are_ we now huh? I _knew_ what we were three years ago, but now I have no clue. Tell me _Squall_."

Leon whirled around and Cloud found himself staring angrily into a pair of emotion-locked, stormy grey. He could read into Leon's soul through those eyes—just as he always could. But Leon said nothing. He just gave him the darkest, angriest glare Cloud had seen yet.

Cloud clenched his jaw and lifted his chin. "Is it because of me? Is it my _ability_ that you hate, or is it my _insanity_?"

The hand came out of nowhere. It came with a biting pain and the force jerked his head away. Cloud closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, lifting a hand to caress his cheek. His gaze turned and landed on Leon—full of anger and tears of frustration.

"You know goddamn well that I don't care about that," Leon hissed, his voice low and dangerous. He was livid. "I left because you didn't need any more fucked up minds in your life!"

His voice had grown until the last six words came out in a shout. Cloud looked at Leon, and he was hit again with an old feeling that he hadn't felt since he'd first seen Leon's tired face on his doorstep. He was reminded again, looking into those eyes and hearing those words.

He'd missed him so much—so fucking much. Leon had been his wall—his pillar of support when he'd needed it. When he'd left, it felt as if he was free-falling, just letting his life slowly leave him in small flashes and flickers. Standing here with the stoic brunette, he felt his life slowing down into that familiar path—the one it hadn't settled into since three years ago.

Cloud smiled then, understanding. It was a small smile, but a smile none the less. Leon looked surprised, but when Cloud reached up and wrapped his arms around the brunette's neck and buried his nose into the warm neck, he didn't pull away. Cloud settled into the embrace and sighed in contentment.

"I've missed this…" He whispered into the skin his mouth was pressed against. He felt Leon's head move slightly. "I know you have too—so stop being so fucking stoic and hug me back, you asshole."

He felt Leon's body shudder as he grunted, but warm arms slid around his waist and Cloud pulled himself closer. The arms were gentle at first, but after a moment, Leon pulled him as close as possible and tightened his grip, burying his face into Cloud's shoulder. The blonde smiled and looked at the mass of brown tickling his cheek. This was how things should be.

"Welcome back, Leon…" Cloud whispered, letting one of his hands rub a small circle on Leon's back.

"…Mmm…"

00000000000000000000

**Disclaimer: **Me no own Kingdom Hearts. Squeenix owns. Join my raid to kidnap Testsuya-sama?

I want to thank all my reviewers again! I love you all:tear:


	10. I Know You

**Authors Notes: **New chapter! Sorry it's so short—I just wanted to leave it off here X) The good stuff starts next chapter! Yaaay! We're in the middle of the story now!

000000000000000000

**Chapter 10**

_To Know You…_

000000000000000000

Riku remembered that there was something about caffeine that his uncle had warned him about. Or rather, he'd warned Kadaj, but Kadaj, being who he was, didn't really care about the warning, and had once allowed Riku to drink coffee.

He'd never done it again.

Riku gazed up at the wooden menu that was nailed to the wall above the server. Sora had ordered a banana split with extra strawberries, and now Axel was looking the board over with a critical eye. Roxas had gotten a simple sea-salt ice-cream bar, and Riku was following Axel's example.

Coffee. He'd really liked coffee. It had been such a long time since he'd had it…

There were different flavors too: strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, mocha, and then iced coffee. Riku made up his mind as Axel ordered a chocolate cone.

"Vanilla coffee," he told the cashier. She looked completely and utterly bored as she typed in his order.

"Three fifty."

Riku blinked. He hadn't realized coffee cost so much… he shrugged and handed her the munny. Then he went to join Sora, Axel and Roxas by the pick-up sign. Sora picked up his Sunday as Axel received his cone.

"So Sora," Axel started, licking around the bottom of his ice-cream. "Have you decided to go to the reunion party?"

"Party?" Riku blinked. Axel looked at him and sighed.

"Man, I forgot you were new," He said, "It's a little welcoming party for one of the generals. They're holding a celebration to welcome him back to the academy. He's coming to teach the obstacle courses."

Riku continued to stare at Axel, and the red-head rolled his eyes. "It's a class required of every academy student near the middle of the second semester. Eight weeks of grueling military training once every year. We get more subjects so that we make a smart army though. Most of the strategists and leaders come from this place." Axel shrugged. "Education is key, or so they say."

Riku blinked as he was handed his drink and took it from the serving boy with a mumbled thanks. The group then moved into one of the booths by the window. Riku slid in after Sora, across from Axel.

Axel turned his attention back to Sora as Riku sipped his coffee. "So, are you going?"

Sora looked down at the table and stabbed a banana with his spoon. "Probably not… I mean… I never do anything at things like dances."

Riku sat and silently listened to Sora speak as he nursed his drink. The brunette's voice had a weird calming sensation to it, and just sitting in his presence made Riku feel good. He could say with complete honesty that he'd never felt more comfortable with another person in his (known) life.

"Aw c'mon! There's free food, and lots of other stuff to do besides dancing." Axel looked at Sora with a slightly pleading expression. Roxas sighed from his spot beside his boyfriend and rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't make him come if he doesn't want to Axel." He reasoned.

Axel frowned. "Sora, you need to live a little! All you do is go to the library and pick your toes at home! You're going to turn sixteen next month, and you have nothing exciting to tell anyone about your life!"

Sora looked down and shrugged. "I never said you guys _had_ to hang around me…"

Roxas elbowed Axel in the ribs with a glare, and then turned to address Sora. "I hate to admit Sora, but Axel does have a point. I mean… ever since we came here you've changed."

Sora stuffed his spoon in his mouth and refused to look up. Riku found himself feeling a little antsy, as well as concerned. _There's something big bothering him, but no one seems to notice… _

"I'm still the same in a lot of ways…" Sora mumbled, playing with a few strawberry bits.

Roxas looked a little sad when Sora stuffed the strawberries into his mouth. Axel sighed and took a bite out of the top of his ice-cream, and then winched. "Oh god—shouldn't have done that. Teeth. Freezing."

Roxas smirked at him as he bit off a peace of his ice-cream bar. "Axel, you're pathetic."

The red-head mumbled something about boyfriends that were abusive and then turned to Riku once he'd recovered, letting Sora wallow in his Sunday.

"So Riku," He said, "Anything you'd like to say? You've been awfully quiet."

Riku shrugged and started bouncing his leg. He felt the need to move around or something—and it was becoming more and more irresistible.

"Well, I used to live in an office building with my uncle… I uh… stayed there for a bit while my 'parent's were looking for a place to stay."

Axel licked his ice-cream, resting his cheek on the upturned palm of his hand as he regarded the silver-haired teen. "Is he your blood uncle?"

Riku frowned. He wasn't quite sure if his uncle was _really_ his uncle. But the man hadn't said anything to deny it—and Kadaj had proven that he and Yazoo were his cousins by blood. So, the silver-haired teen just shrugged.

"I think so… I mean, he does look a bit like me… I didn't see him much though. I lived with my cousins, Kadaj and Yazoo."

"Cousins?" Axel blinked. Roxas and Sora were looking at him in interest, and he remembered that they didn't know his "story" yet.

"I was adopted by my… parents when I was a few months old. They're both guys," Roxas looked surprised and Sora blinked. Axel was the only one who didn't give a reaction, "And they wanted the youngest baby they could find, so they ended up with me." Riku shrugged. "I guess my uncle was still in touch with them since the orphanage, and I went to visit him now and then. I think my stay with Kadaj and Yazoo was the weirdest part of my life…"

It came so easily to him—this lying and story making. He didn't know if that was because he'd spent far too much time with Kadaj, or if he'd always been good at fabricating stories. He called it off as good luck for now though.

"Kadaj was some kind of psycho of his own brand. I mean, he was always getting us into trouble and using me in his little 'tricks' against the office personnel. It wasn't my fault, I mean, even if he looks like me it doesn't me I want to be his clone." Riku frowned and stared into his coffee. "He liked to take up the secretary's chair and make prank calls until Yazoo caught him and whipped his ass for it," Riku smirked, remembering the way Yazoo would sometimes grab the nearest loose, heavy object and chase Kadaj around the office with it.

"Those guys taught me a lot though," he hated to admit, "Even though they were fucking idiots. It usually took you an hour to get Kadaj to do you a favor, because he'd always tease you until you just got so fed up with it you left him alone."

Axel smirked slightly. Riku found himself playing with one of Sora's extra plastic spoons as he talked. He wanted to keep moving, and for some reason he felt the need to blurt out everything in his head.

"Kadaj tricked me into dying my hair blue once," Riku muttered, "Luckily it was the wash out kind or else I would have killed him. I don't know how Yazoo can put up with Kadaj—he's such an annoying prick." He lifted his cup to find his coffee gone. Huh. He didn't remember drinking it all.

"Hmm… Kadaj never let me have coffee," Riku continued rambling, ignorant of the amused stares he was getting. "He let me have it once and then he never let me touch it ever again. I dunno why… I mean, is it really bad for you or something? Cause I don't think it is, if it tastes this nice…"

"Things that taste good are often bad for you." Roxas said, grinning around his popsicle stick. Riku hummed and took the top off his cup, peering inside.

"That's not fair," The teen grunted. "If all the healthy things tasted good, this world would be a much happier place."

"I second that," Axel grinned. Riku looked at Sora, who grinned back at him. Riku found himself grinning as well.

"Man, I wanna move around…" Riku complained, wiggling in his seat and looking around the parlor. "I feel all twitchy…"

Sora burst out laughing and Axel chuckled lightly. Riku looked at them, wondering if he'd done something wrong.

"Riku, _that_ is the caffeine talking."

The teen blinked. So, caffeine made him want to move around and talk until his mouth fell off? Huh. No wonder Kadaj didn't let him drink coffee…

Axel laughed again and finished the last of his cone. "Alright then, let's get out of here."

0000000000000000000

"And then he threw it out the window," Riku rambled. It was only he and Sora now. After getting the ice-cream, Roxas and Axel had parted ways with Sora and Riku, leaving the brunette with the caffeinated silver-headed teenager alone together. Riku wasn't aware that he hadn't stopped talking since they'd left the parlor, but no one had complained about it.

Yet.

"He blamed it all on me of course," Riku huffed. "I just wish I could get him back Y'know? Find something really good that'll kick his ass…"

Sora giggled lightly and Riku frowned at him. "What?"

The brunette gave a huge grin. "You sure talk a lot when you're full on caffeine."

Riku blinked and looked ahead, thoughtful. "That's probably why Kadaj wouldn't give me any coffee."

"I can see why, if he's like you say he is." Sora smiled at him. "So, do you know where your dorm is?"

Riku blinked and stopped walking. "Hang on," he mumbled, pulling his shoulder pack in front of him and digging through it. It was the same bag he'd been using for the last few weeks of traveling. "Here it is," he smirked as he pulled a document out of one of the folders that Cloud had insisted on getting. Sora took it and looked it over, then he blanched.

"This can't be right," Sora mumbled. Riku frowned and looked over his shoulder at the paper. He was a head taller than Sora he realized belatedly.

"What?"

"This is my dorm," Sora looked at him, confused. "I'm… I'm not supposed to live with anyone else. It's… uh… a rule for me."

Riku stared at him. A slow smile spread over his face, until it turned into a full-blown grin. "Maybe they made an exception?"

Sora shook his head, looking nervous. "No—they told me that I wouldn't be sharing my dorm…"

_But Cloud didn't know that when he got it for me,_ Riku thought happily. Outside he shrugged. "Well, maybe we can change it later. Right now I think it'll be okay… right?"

Sora looked a little nervous, but he nodded. They continued on, and Riku finally stopped talking. There was a fluttering of nerves in his stomach, and he didn't understand why. Was he nervous about living with Sora?

_Yes_. He realized. Even though he'd been anticipating it, he still found himself nervous in the presence of a boy whose eyes were the only thing he could remember.

"Riku…" Sora mumbled, and the silver-haired teen looked away from his thoughts. "Why were you lying to them?"

Riku was so surprised he stopped walking. "Huh?"

Sora stopped as well, a few meters ahead. He didn't turn around as he spoke, but Riku could see his head bow. "I… Everything you told us—except for what happened with your cousins—was a lie."

Riku's eyes turned guarded as he looked at Sora. "…You don't know that for sure…"

Sora finally turned around and looked up at Riku, his eyes searching. "Maybe not but… I could tell that you were lying. Because when you talked about Kadaj, you talked differently."

Riku looked away. "I _was_ lying…" He admitted, "But I couldn't tell _them_ the truth."

Sora looked at him strangely, confused. "Why not?"

"Because it doesn't involve them." Riku sighed. The sun was setting, and it was in the later part of evening—when everything held a gentle bluish black color, and the street-lamps cast their light over trees and fences alike. There was no one else on the cobblestone street—but Riku knew that there were people inside of the buildings flanking them on either side. "Do you want the truth Sora?"

The brunette watched Riku for a moment, and then he nodded slowly. The silver-haired teen reached up and ran his hand through his hair. "I… I have no memory of who I am. I don't know where I came from—hell, a few months ago, I didn't even know what a _table_ was." He looked at Sora, his aquamarine eyes taking in that beautiful deep blue. "But… I did remember something, and that was the color of your eyes."

Those eyes widened and Sora took a step back. Riku looked away from him again. "I woke up a few months ago in my uncle's office. I don't know if he really _is_ my uncle, _that_ is true, but he helped me remember things. It was easy to pick up, because every time someone named something I could remember it."

Sora was watching Riku closely. When the silver-haired teen didn't say anymore, he smiled gently.

"To tell you the truth, I have memory problems too."

Riku's eyes widened and he looked at Sora. "Y-you do?"

The brunette nodded, rubbing one of his arms as he looked down at the ground. "I grew up with Roxas and a girl named Kairi. But there was someone else with us sometimes—a boy—but I don't remember a thing about him." Sora's eyelids fell, shadowing the beautiful blue. "I can't remember anything from when I was younger than seven either…"

Riku swallowed thickly. "I-I see…"

Sora looked up at him and smiled. "You have to be him… I mean, you're familiar to me, and Roxas too—so you have to be him!"

Riku smiled, feeling a great sense of happiness well up in his chest. Sora could help him—they could do it _together_.

The silver-haired teen had a sudden urge, took a step forward and grabbed Sora—pulling the brunette against his chest and squeezing him tightly, burying his nose into those soft cinnamon spikes. He felt Sora stiffen, but it only took him a moment to relax and even lean into the embrace, resting his chin on Riku's shoulder.

"We'll find them Sora," Riku whispered, squeezing the boy. "I know we will!"

"Riku…" Sora mumbled, and then buried his face into Riku's shoulder. They stood like that for a moment, before Sora pushed gently at Riku's chest. The silver-haired boy let go and smiled at the brunette, who blushed, but smiled happily back.

"We should get to the dorm before it gets too late." Sora said, starting to walk off. Riku followed him silently, happy and fulfilled.

They stayed close to each other as they walked the rest of the way to the dorms. They relished in the silence and the familiarity that surrounded them, grabbing onto it and holding with everything they had. Riku snuck glances at Sora's profile every now and then, letting small smiles grace his features.

They finally reached the dorms, and because the staircase was so narrow, Riku allowed Sora to go ahead of him. He climbed behind, watching Sora move with rapt attention. He was captivated with the way he moved—his light touch on the railing and the swing of his pack from his shoulder. It seemed so… just so familiar.

"Uh, it's kind of a mess…" The brunette admitted, digging in his pocket as they turned onto the platform.

"I don't mind," Riku smiled. Sora flashed him a small grin back, stopping in front of his dorm room and raising the key to unlock the door.

But instead, the door flew open all on its own. Sora let out a yelp as he backed away just in time—avoiding the metal door.

"Sora!" A feminine voice cried, "I made dinner! Oh, I cleaned up a bit too. I know how you don't like to move after days like yesterday."

A red-headed girl stood there in the doorway, her hair just brushing her shoulders. She was wearing the school uniform, and her eyes were wide violet-blue, glowing with welcoming warmth. Riku blinked as Sora grabbed his chest and huffed.

"Geez Kairi, you're gonna give me a heart attack…"

The girl grinned. "Nah, your hearts perfectly fine!"

That was when she noticed Riku. She blinked, turning her head and finally focusing on him. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she nearly stumbled back. Riku turned around to make sure there wasn't someone standing behind him with an ax. When there was nothing but air and more dorms, he turned back and gave her a confused look.

"R-Riku…" The girl whispered, her eyes suddenly glassy with tears. "You're alive…"

Riku stared at her, joined by Sora.

"You… know me?"

0000000000000000000

**Disclaimer:** Fwoo nooo owwwnn.


	11. Free Me

**Author's Notes: **Ahh! Sorry this is so late. I have a lot of RL problems going on right now. I also started a new story! The new one will be updated whenever I get the chance because I'm making those chapters rather long. Anyway, onwards!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_Free Me_

* * *

"You know me…?" 

Kairi stared at Riku as if he'd just given birth to an alien child.

"Riku—you, Sora and I grew up together… and then _they_ took you, and we haven't seen you since then."

Sora stared at Kairi in shock. "What? You never told me you remembered Riku!"

Kairi turned and glared, her eyes still glowing with unshed tears. "I thought you didn't want me to talk about it! You never said anything about him, so I didn't bring him up."

"Kairi, I _forgot_ him!" Sora hissed. "And he's forgotten me too. I don't know him. I mean, he's _familiar_, but I don't _know_ him."

Riku nodded. Though it stung just a little, he felt almost the same. "Apparently someone's been messing with our heads…" He gave a weak smile. This Kairi girl was very familiar, just like Sora and Roxas. She narrowed her eyes at them both, and then blinked, as if she'd realized something.

"Those tests—" She clamped her mouth shut and Sora's eyes widened.

"They—they've messed with my memory… it made me forget Riku…" He whispered, looking at the boy beside him.

Kairi sighed. She stepped back and let the boys walk past her. "Well, come in and eat."

Sora stepped by her and Riku followed, a little nervous. Kairi closed the door behind them and moved over towards the kitchen area. The dorm had one bedroom on the left, a tiny living room, and a bathroom on the right. Riku followed Sora into the bedroom, still not sure how he was supposed to go about things here. He'd never admit it out loud, but being near Sora made him feel much more comfortable.

Once Sora was in the room, he turned on a small lamp on a table between the beds and moved towards the bed on the left. There were two beds in the room, and in between them sat the table with the lamp on it. The room was a little cluttered, papers on the floor and the table, and the bed on the left hadn't been made. Sora set his pack down on it and looked at Riku.

"Uh… well, I guess we're sharing the room." He smiled. "That's your bed, obviously. We'll split the closet and the dresser..." Sora looked at the small dresser between the beds. "The bathroom's in that other room. It's got shampoo and everything so…"

The brunette scratched the back of his head nervously. Riku set his old pack on the other bed and sat down, pulling off his shoes. "Alright… thanks Sora."

Sora smiled widely. "I'm going to go change. You can use the room…" He turned on his heel, digging in the small closet and pulling out a few articles of clothing before bolting out the door. Riku blinked after him and shrugged, pushing the door so that it closed half-way.

He proceeded to pull off his cloths. Just as he was putting on a collar to hide his neck scars, the door opened and Kairi stepped in. Riku turned around and frowned at her. "Did anyone teach you to knock?"

The red-head smirked as she pushed the door closed. "That's just like you. At least you haven't really changed."

Riku huffed. "You just wanted to see me naked."

Kairi giggled and flopped down onto Sora's bed, looking Riku over with her blue eyes. "Not really. I know you don't like girls."

Riku froze. He slowly turned towards her, looking at her with one eye. "…"

Kairi smiled and shook her head. "Look Riku, I don't know if you remember anything but… You're here, and you're alive and that's all that counts…"

Suddenly she stood up and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing him tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay…" She whispered. Riku stared down at her, not sure what he should do. He settled for hugging her back, looking down at her head. It barely reached his chin.

"I must have gone through something really bad…" He chuckled. "I've had a lot of people tell me I shouldn't be alive… or at least that's what they implied."

"Where have you been?" Kairi asked, stepping back and looking up at him. "Do you know?"

Riku shrugged. "I've been with my uncle and cousins for the last few months."

"Zexion, Kadaj and Yazoo?" Kairi asked. Riku blinked.

"So they really _are_ related to me…"

"You didn't know?" Kairi rolled her eyes. "Anyway Riku… I want you to do something for me."

Riku blinked down at her, his brow furrowed. The more time he spent near her, the more comfortable he became. It was almost like being near Sora, except it wasn't as strong. "What?"

She gripped his upper arms and looked him in the eye, stern. "I want you to take Sora and get away from here."

Riku almost stepped away in surprise. "What?"

Kairi looked away. "Sora needs to get away from here. Riku, this place… they do things to him. I still don't know _what_ they do, but whatever it is, it's making him sick. He always changes the subject when I ask him about it, and he won't refuse them because… well, they threaten him." Kairi looked up at him sadly. "They threaten to kick him out of the school. He can't get kicked out Riku; if he does he's as good as dead."

Riku stared at her, then he looked her in the eye fiercely. "Tell me."

Sora was in trouble. Sora needed help. If Kairi hadn't helped him yet, then there was nothing she could do. But Riku, he knew that he was capable. He could do anything he wanted right now; he had money, people behind him, and the guts to do it.

"Sora's parents are dead." Kairi began, dropping her gaze. "Well, his _real_ parents. They died in the war when he was three. There were so many orphans that needed families, and you and Sora both did."

Riku's chest froze. He hadn't really thought about his parents—his mind was too cluttered with everything else to even consider them. But now he did. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, small.

"My parents are dead…?"

Kairi looked up sharply, and then gave him a sympathetic look. "They died when you were four. You met Sora and me at the orphan house, where all of us were taken. Because there were so many loose kids, the army just offered money to people who would take a kid in. I got lucky, but you and Sora… well… you weren't so lucky.

"Sora's parents bought him what he needed to live, but other than that… he didn't exist. They ignored him and shunned him. You lived a few blocks away from Sora, and you were always together, talking and playing." Kairi smiled. "It was impossible to separate you two. We went to school together, you, me, Sora, and Roxas. You met him today right?"

Riku nodded, drinking up the information. Everything pricked him, pulling his soul uncomfortably as faint feelings of familiarity brushed his consciousness.

Kairi nodded. "Just before middle school… the army came. They took a bunch of kids with them. All of them were fostered orphans, and you went with them. You were fourteen and Sora was just a month younger. For two years we didn't see you… we had no idea what had happened to you. When we finished middle school, Sora looked for a school that was as far away from his home as possible. And… well, this was it." Kairi shrugged. "It's a good school, so Roxas and I followed him. As soon as he enrolled a few months ago, they asked Sora to join a program. He agreed and… well… he hasn't been the same since." Kairi rubbed her arm subconsciously.

"I want you to take him and… and just go somewhere. Anywhere but here."

"What about you?" Riku asked gently, his brow furrowing. Kairi gave him a small smile.

"I'm fine. Here is where I belong… it's what I decided to do. But Sora didn't have a choice. He didn't want this…" Kairi stopped talking and squeezed her eyes shut. "Please Riku… you have to save him."

Riku bit his lip, milling around in his ideas. It would be easy to leave. He could take Sora to Leon and Cloud, and then they could go see his uncle… He would help. He'd make sure they were safe. After a moment, Riku clenched his jaw and looked at Kairi.

"I'll help him," He said, setting his hands on Kairi's shoulders. "I promise."

Kairi smiled up at him and gave him another tight hug—this one he returned without hesitation—and then pivoted and walked to the door. "Sora's probably already ready for bed," She giggled. "Come and have some food—I made spaghetti."

* * *

Cloud was staring in awe as the popcorn in the microwave starting splitting and producing large, puffy excrements. He'd never had a microwave that was this clear. He could see how the heat affected his food. Popcorn was so… strange. 

The phone rang.

"Leon! The phone's ringing!"

"You're in the kitchen! You can reach it!" came the reply from the living room.

"But I'm busy!" the blonde shouted back. There went the second ring.

"I'm not moving all the way into the kitchen to get a phone that's only two steps away from you." the brunette growled. Cloud scowled.

"Stop being lazy!"

"Cloud, you've made three bags of popcorn already! There are pigeons making nests on our balcony because you're leaving bowels of it outside! Get. The. Phone."

"Fine!" Cloud whined, tearing his eyes from the microwave and turning around to grab the phone. "Hello?"

_"Hey Cloud."_

"Riku," Cloud smiled a bit. "How's everything going?"

_"Fine. Did you know that the dorm you got me was actually Sora's?"_

Cloud smirked. "Maybe."

He heard Riku laugh on the other line. _"I love you."_

"Aww thanks. So, his name's Sora?" Cloud leaned back against the counter and continued to watch his popcorn.

_"Yeah, isn't it beautiful?" _Cloud smirked. _"I've met three people here that I know—or knew—and Kairi—Sora's friend—she_ remembers _me! She gave me a rundown of how I used to live… and what's been going on with Sora."_

Cloud smiled, truly happy for Riku. "That's great!"

_"She… well, she wants me to take Sora and get out of here."_

Cloud's senses went on alert. "Why?"

_"She said that there's a group of people that Sora agreed to help when he came here. Ever since he joined them he hasn't been the same, and whatever they're doing to him has made gaps in his memory. He doesn't know me…"_

Cloud froze and straightened. "Riku you have to get out of there. Has anyone seen your scars?"

Riku sounded confused when he answered. _"No. I'm pretty sure I've kept them well hidden."_

"Good," Cloud glanced at Leon as he entered the kitchen, having sensed the tension. "You have to take Sora and get away from there. If you don't, Sora might end up like you in the end."

_"How? When?"_

"As soon as possible…" Cloud looked at the calendar that he'd bought that afternoon. "Tomorrow night at the latest. Tomorrow's Saturday, so you have plenty of time. Meet me and Leon outside the gates tomorrow and we'll get away. Tomorrow at…" Cloud glanced at the clock on the wall. "Six. We'll take the car and head to the coast. From there we'll catch a ship and head where ever we need to go."

_"Alright. Is Leon there?"_

"Yeah," Cloud looked at Leon with a frown. "Why?"

_"No reason. Alright, I'll see you guys tomorrow."_

"Okay. Be careful Riku."

_"Will be." __Click_.

Cloud placed the phone in the holder and sighed, slumping back against the counter.

"What's going on?" Leon asked, stepping closer. Cloud scratched his head and looked at him.

"They're testing the boy Riku's been looking for." He said, "It sound like what they did to me, except a lot less complicated. The kids name is Sora."

Leon frowned. "I've never heard his name."

"Probably after you left. Riku has to take Sora and get out of there as soon as possible. We're going to pick him up at the gate tomorrow at six."

Leon nodded and stepped even closer to Cloud, pressing his hands on the counter on either side of the blonde. Cloud smirked and leaned back.

"Better enjoy our time alone then," the brunette mumbled into Cloud's ear. Cloud chuckled and brushed up against Leon's chest, pressing his lips against Leon's.

"I hope you haven't gotten rusty…" Cloud whispered as his arms snaked around Leon's neck and he was pushed back against the counter.

* * *

"Riku?" Sora peeked into the room just as Riku set the phone back on the cradle. "So here's where you went." He smiled and entered the room. He was wearing a large T-shirt that was far too big for him and a pair of loose pajama pants the bunched at his ankles. It took all of Riku's willpower not to look him up and down and drool. 

It did leave him speechless for a small moment. "Uh… Riku?"

The silver-haired teen shook his head. "Sorry. I had to call my… uh, "parents"."

"Oh," Sora smiled. He moved over to his bed, closing the door behind him and flopping into the mattress. "I'm so glad it's the weekend…"

Riku looked at the wall. It was now or never. He had to convince Sora to come with him tomorrow. He wouldn't leave him, not again…

_Again…?_

"Sora…" Riku started, taking a seat on the edge of Sora's bed. "I… want to ask you something."

Sora blinked at him and turned, looking at him intently. "What is it?"

"Will you… um. I'm leaving tomorrow. I… I have to get away from here, and I want you to… come with me." Riku looked up, catching Sora's startled gaze.

"Why? Why are you leaving?" Sora muttered, scooting closer. He looked a little hurt, nervous.

"Sora… I guess when I was taken from you and Kairi the army did some things to me." Riku took a breath and pulled up the sleeve of his long sleeved nightshirt, revealing the scars circling up his arm. Sora gasped, staring down at him in awe.

"That's… that's why you were wearing so much…" He whispered, reaching out to touch one of the marks. Riku watched him, not looking down at his arm.

"They… they might do the same thing to you, Sora. I don't want that to happen… so… please… come with me." He pleaded. Sora looked into his eyes, and a spark went through Riku's body. They both froze and stared each other down.

"Riku…" Sora whispered, breaking the eye contact and looking at the floor. "I…"

"Sora," Riku whispered, moving closer to him. Sora started when he noticed just how close Riku was to him. The silver-haired teen was just inches away from his face, and Sora's breath caught as he looked into those deep, sea-green eyes. "Please…"

"A-alright…"

Riku closed the distance between their mouths, and all Sora could feel was warmth. He pressed closer to Riku, feeling so comfortable and familiar with this feeling that tears came to his eyes. Riku's arms wrapped around him and pushed him down against the bed. Sora started gently when something pressed against the seam of his lips and he let them fall open, inviting Riku into his mouth. Riku let out a breath and shivered as he explored Sora's mouth, relishing in the warmth crawling down to his stomach.

They broke away and took a breath, then Riku kissed him again. Sora lifted his arms and buried them in Riku's hair, mewling quietly as the silver-haired teen left his mouth and started trailing small butterfly kisses down his jaw to his neck. "Nnn… Riku…"

"Mmm…" Riku panted, slipping his hands up from beneath Sora and ghosting them over the brunette's sides, delighting in the shivers he elicited. He climbed up onto the bed until he could hover over Sora, and then he attacked his mouth again. This time the kiss was confident. Riku knew what he was doing. He felt it in his heart—he'd done this before. So many times before. The longer he touched Sora, the more familiar it felt. Every sound that Sora made was familiar to him, and so were the curves of his body.

He felt Sora's hands on the edge of his shirt, and then he froze. What was he doing?

Sora stopped as well, and he looked up into Riku's eyes in surprise. They sat there for a moment, staring at each other. Then Riku blushed, pushing himself up and off of Sora. "Uh… S-sorry… I didn't… I don't know… why I did that…"

"Riku," Sora whispered, grabbing Riku's arm as the boy attempted to stand and move to the other bed. Riku turned around and looked at him. Sora could see the nerves in his eyes, the fear of not knowing. He smiled, tugging his arm towards him. "It's okay."

Riku turned around completely and looked at Sora. "You… you don't mind it?"

Sora shook his head. He looked up and gave Riku a large grin, a small blush tinting his cheeks. "It… I think we've… done this before. More than this…"

Riku looked at the floor. "… Me too."

"Sleep with me," Sora said, then seeing the horrified look on Riku's face, he quickly rephrased his question "I-I mean, just lay down here with me… You… well, when I'm around you I feel…"

"Comfortable?" Riku smiled as Sora nodded. He slid onto the bed as Sora moved over and lay down, pulling the covers up over them as Sora snuggled down beside him. "Me too…"

Sora smiled and snuggled close. Riku hesitantly put an arm over his waist and closed his eyes, smiling gently.

* * *

Somewhere nearby, a soldier set his phone back on the cradle and turned to his superior. 

"Sir, we have confirmed the whereabouts of Squall Leonhart and Cloud Strife, as well as their next plan of action."

A slow smirk spread over the angled face. He chuckled lowly, leaning back in his chair and turning to his group of subordinates.

"Ready the cadets in the academy," he said, his voice low and soft like silk. "We need fire… lots of fire."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. O-o 


	12. Caught

**Authors Notes: **Sorry this is late! Hopefully the trend won't last… school is being an evil sunofa bitch. Also I didn't read over it, so there may be a couple of stupid mistakes.

Now we're getting to the fun stuff! Wheeee.

* * *

**  
Chapter 12**

_Caught_

* * *

Sora was so warm.

He could honestly say that he couldn't remember ever feeling so warm and comfortable. He let out a content sigh and snuggled closer to the source of the warmth, a small smile on his face.

Then the warmth moved.

Sora's eyes snapped open and he came face to face with the sleeping face of a—very beautiful—boy. It took a second for everything to come back to him, but once it did he relaxed.

Riku was an innocent sleeper, his face devoid of all the stresses of life. His mouth was open slightly, allowing his breath to pass in gentle puffs against Sora's nose. The brunette smothered a giggle, and the sound woke the silver-haired teen.

"Mmm, good morning to you too…" Riku muttered, eyes still closed and his voice full of sleep. Sora smiled and sat up, looking down at the silver-haired teen.

Even though he'd just met Riku yesterday, it felt like he'd known him for years—which he had. He just didn't remember those years. Being near him like this felt so right… and he didn't want to be left alone again. Even though Kairi and Roxas had been there for him, it had still been lonely because he couldn't talk to them. They could never relate to him, and sometimes he couldn't relate to them. Being here with Riku though, he felt that he was understood, if only slightly.

Riku yawned and sat up, stretching. He looked at Sora and then looked quickly away, turning to climb out of bed. "I'll go make something for breakfast. Why don't you start packing? Just light stuff though—we'll be doing a lot of traveling."

Sora clenched the sheets in his fists but nodded. Riku gave him a small smile before turning and leaving the room. The brunette closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I can do this, he told himself, I can get away from here…

Even if it was just a small hope, it made him feel so much better.

Taking a breath, Sora jumped out of bed and into him closet, where he proceeded to weed through every shirt he owned.

In the end, the only thing Riku knew how to make for breakfast was cereal. So, he just grabbed one the two boxes of grain cereal out of the shelf and poured himself a bowl. By the time Sora came out he was almost done eating.

Sora looked at Riku's choice of breakfast food and chuckled, but he poured himself his own bowl and sat down at the little kitchen table next to Riku.

"So, where are we headed?" Sora asked. Riku looked up from his bowl and swallowed a mouthful.

"My uncle's company office." He said, tipping the bowel back so he could drink the milk. "It's way up north over the northern sea, but it's faster if we go on water rather than the way I came."

Sora nodded, playing with the spoon in his mouth. "So what do I need?"

"Uh, some cloths… a few water bottles, some food, and probably a bed-roll. I didn't have one because I had this huge cloak before, but I think it would be a good idea to have one for now."

Sora nodded. "I have a double… uh… if you want we can share it if we need to." He looked down and blushed. Riku smiled and nodded.

"Sure. I think that's about it… so, let's get dressed and clean out this place!"

Sora grinned and finished off his cereal. He washed both his and Riku's bowels, then followed the older teen into the living room and started digging up any personal possessions he may have needed. Riku asked him questions as he helped dig everything up and put them into the cardboard boxes that Sora still had from moving in. They were usually generic questions, like "what's your favorite color?" and "When's your birthday?"

By the time they'd packed half of the stuff and stacked it into a corner—setting the things that Sora wanted to look through and take with him aside—so that the next person to own the dorm wouldn't have to wade through all of Sora's things.

When Riku moved the couch out of the way to reach a book that he'd dropped behind it, his eyes found something not normally found in the house of a boy who lived alone.

"Hey Sora…" Riku inquired, picking the item up with two fingers and turning to smirk at the brunette. Sora looked up at him in question, and then he focused on the item Riku was holding. His eyes seemed to grow double there size as the silver-haired teen held them out in front of him. "What's a thong doing under the couch?"

Sora could have spontaneously combusted and Riku wouldn't have been surprised—that was the flush of a lifetime. "I-It's not mine!" He cried. "I've never seen that before!"

Riku smirked and held the thong up, twisting a little and holding it across his hips. "Hmm… what do you think? Do women's thongs make me look sexy?"

The brunette covered his eyes and wailed. "Rikuuuu!"

Riku cackled and pulled it away from him, instead holding it between his hands toward Sora. He closed one of his eyes and cocked his head. "Mmm, I think you'd look better in a thong than I would…"

"I thought you had amnesia!" Sora cried, refusing to look at Riku. He'd turned himself around so that his back was facing the silver-haired teen. Riku laughed and pushed the couch back against the wall, slowly sneaking up behind the unsuspecting brunette.

"I do," he said lightly, "But I lived with Kadaj remember? Thongs were one of the first things he ever told me about."

"Moouu, Riku just thro—AHH! RIKU!"

Riku leapt back after putting the garment over Sora's head, breaking down into a fit of laughter as the brunette clawed at his head and ripped the feeble piece of lingerie off his brown spikes and threw it at the wall. He proceeded to shiver and scrub his forehead, then turned and gave Riku the most evil glare he could muster.

"Riku I have no idea where that thing has been!" He cried, shuddering as Riku attempted to smother his giggles. "For all I know it could be three years old!"

Riku continued to laugh for a moment longer before he got a hold of himself. He brushed his hair back and grinned at Sora. "Oh it's okay Sora. I'm pretty sure it's not infested with something."

"You don't know that…" Sora muttered, batting at his hair one more time. Riku took pity on him and stepped foreword, running his hand through Sora's spikes.

"Alright, I'm sorry. But you have to admit… that was freaking funny…"

Sora pouted and crossed his arms. Riku smiled at him, leaning down and looking into Sora's eyes—those large, blue eyes. The color flooded him and Riku was happy. This was where he belonged, here with Sora, looking into his eyes.

"Riku…?" Sora looked a little nervous.

Riku blinked and snapped out of his daze, leaning back up and taking his hand regretfully out of Sora's hair. "Well… I do think you'd be really sexy in a thong."

Sora punched his chest and huffed, turning away and going into the kitchen. "You won't ever see me wearing one of those!"

Riku chuckled gently and turned back to the living room. He cast his eyes to the clock—only four o'clock. Two more hours to wait… He sighed and bent down, packing a few sheets into one of the boxes.

Wonder what Leon and Cloud are doing right now… probably as bored as I am…

* * *

As a matter of fact, Riku was quite right.

Cloud had found himself on the roof of their apartment, standing on the edge and gazing out at the small town below. His spiky hair was tussled by the wind, but he either didn't notice or didn't care.

If he was a normal person—without the ability to read information banks in computers, who had no mental problems because of that ability, and wasn't hiding from the army—he would have gladly stayed here. It was a nice town—where people were friendly and not city roughened. People were considerate when they drove, patient, and the store-keepers had smiles on their faces for their customers, excluding a couple of people.

But that, unfortunately, wasn't the case. So, all he could do was stand up here on the roof and stare disappointedly out at the town.

He knew Leon had come up the moment he opened the door to the roof. When the brunette came to stand beside him her sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Life is cruel."

"Hn."

"Did you get everything packed?"

"It's in the car."

Cloud nodded. Then they were silent, staring out at the expanse of civilization together, just relishing in the company that both of them had sorely missed.

"You're not going to leave again… right?" Cloud asked suddenly. Leon looked at him, not really surprised by the question, but still not expecting it. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Not if you don't want me too." He said after a pause. Cloud smiled sadly.

"Thanks Leon."

"Hn." Leon didn't look over at Cloud, but he knew that he was happy. He nearly yelped when something collided with his shoulder. Turning his head, his nose was tickled by the feathery spikes of Cloud's hair. The blonde had leaned against him, his arms still crossed, but now his eyes were closed. Leon sighed and rolled his eyes, through he was secretly fond of Cloud's need of comfort.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, then Cloud moved and turned to look at Leon. "Well… let's go."

The brunette nodded and turned, leading the way downstairs and to their stolen car. Cloud followed him, looking one last time at the town below, before turning his back to it and picking up his pace.

* * *

Axel wasn't a very happy camper.

Today was a Saturday—a day in which school was not needed. He'd been preparing for his second date with Roxas that morning when he'd been called up and told that he was on a squad who was to be stationed by the gates. He would receive his instructions when he got there.

Stupid army.

The red-head sighed and twirled one of his chakram's around his wrist. He was leaning against a wall, only half-listening to the commander explain why they'd been called out. Apparently a couple of students were in trouble, and they were waiting for them to return from the town. They were to attack when told, no ifs and or buts, was what he was saying. When he finished talking Axel rolled his eyes and looked at all the people gathered around. A few of them he recognized from his field training class.

Most of these guys are in reserves or ready for battle… He mused, his eyes narrowing. Why would the school need so many people just for two students? He shook his head. It didn't matter, the schools business was it's own, and he frankly didn't give a rats ass.

"Axel?"

He turned his head and then his mood brightened instantly. "Roxas!"

The blonde smiled, then looked around as he parked himself next to Axel, his brow furrowed. "This is suspicious, don't you think?"

Axel shrugged. He didn't care about anything as long as his Roxas was nearby. "It's probably just a training exercise or something."

"I dunno…" Roxas scanned the crowd slowly. "There're too many specialists here to be just a regular training mission. And especially you…"

Axel frowned. "Maybe they're seeing if we work well together?"

"It still seems too suspicious."

Axel tried not to groan. Roxas was always a little on the paranoid side. "Well, let's just sit back and wait and see."

Roxas refused to relax. He'd dressed in the same black cloak as Axel, but his hood was up, obscuring everything but his shadowed face. The sky above was slightly dark, and Axel cursed, hoping it didn't rain while they were standing out here.

They stood around for almost two hours, small, quiet conversations flitting in and out of his hearing range. He started spinning both of his chakram's, just to see how fast he could make them go. Roxas wasn't very social, even on a good day, but Axel was content just to be near him. It made him happy to know that Roxas didn't wander to anyone else's side—instead he stayed rooted to the spot at Axel's side, his arms crossed over his chest, blue eyes calculating.

The sky grew steadily darker, and finally the heavens ripped open and decided that the occupants of earth were far too dry for its liking. Axel whined at he felt the first drops on his nose and rubbed them off. "Aw shit… now I'm gonna be all smelly…"

Roxas snorted. "Can you even use your fire in the rain?"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Of course I can! It just takes more concentration."

Roxas smirked and shook his head slightly. The rain steadily got harder, until Axel couldn't see much past the building they were standing beside. Suddenly a cry was loosed, and everyone straightened. The group of soldiers could hear the roaring of a car engine. Axel found—were the students in a car or something?

"Axel,"

The red-head turned and straightened as his superior officer walked up to him. "Yes sir?"

The man nodded and Axel relaxed. Roxas at his side was watching silently, his eyes piercing. My little Roxas is so sharp, Axel thought with glee.

"I want you and Roxas to team up," he said, looking at the boy beside Axel for a second. "We have orders to apprehend a pair of students who should be on their way here. They aren't as important as the two at the gate—so if they get away it's not a huge loss. I've been speaking to some of the others, and they tell me that you're very close to these two."

Roxas grew tense at Axel's side and the red-head frowned. "Who?"

"Sora Otahri and Riku Saru?"

Axel jerked and stared. "Why?" he blurted. Roxas frowned darkly.

"The two of them have a shaky background, and they're said to know the whereabouts of a pair of criminals." The man seemed annoyed. "Now go!"

Axel turned, but hesitantly. Riku and Sora? He could understand Riku, but why Sora?

"I don't like this," Roxas said as he kept pace with Axel's long strides, holding his hand out and summoning his weapon—a dark-key like blade that appeared with a slight ringing sound and a flash of light. Axel was always fascinated by the blade. It seemed Roxas could summon it like Axel could summon his flames and his chakram's—but the blade was far more advanced than Axel's weapons.

"Me either," He growled. "Sora would never do anything like that—but Riku might. Maybe they did something last night…?"

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." And he broke into a run. Axel quickly followed him, his mind doing back flips.

Something about this is so totally wrong...

* * *

Sora yawned as he followed Riku down the road. They'd left his dorm not too long ago, and now they were heading to the entrance gates, where they would meet Riku's so called "parents", and after hat they would start on their journey to Riku's company office. He was rather excited—this was almost like an adventure! Running from the bad guy and joining a pair of misfits to continue his quest…

Riku frowned at Sora as a huge grin suddenly split his face. "What are you thinking about?"

Sora just shook his head with a smile. "Nothin'." Riku eyed him for a moment, and then he smiled too.

"It's exciting isn't it?" He asked, turning foreword. Sora grinned and hopped foreword, matching pace with Riku.

"This is gonna be so awesome…" He said, adjusting his orange shoulder-bag. Riku laughed and nodded. They walked on in silence for a while, passing the odd student every now and then, but they were content. Even when it started to rain they didn't seem to mind too much. Sora pulled out an umbrella and the shared it.

There wasn't much for them to talk about, but they didn't care. Just being near each other was enough for them. It made the both of them happy.

"Hey Riku!"

Riku and Sora blinked and turned, watching as Axel, dressed in a black cloak and followed by Roxas, jogged up to them. He stopped and looked at Riku slightly accusingly. "You guys are in trouble."

Immediately ice formed in Sora's heart as he stared up at Axel. Roxas stood back, apprehensive and waiting. Riku was the first to recover. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to Sora.

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently the army thinks you guys are helping a pair of runaway's," Axel said. Riku's eyes flashed, but other than that he showed nothing. "We've gotta take you in for questioning."

Riku started shaking his head before he even finished speaking. He slowly began to back away, grabbing Sora's hand and pulling him along. "We're not going."

Axel's eyes widened and then narrowed. He started spinning the two chakram's in his hands while Roxas just looked a bit stunned. "I knew you were bad news…"

"You can't break us apart again!" Riku snarled, dragging Sora with him as he backed further away from them. "I won't let you!"

"R-Riku," Sora whispered, but the silver-haired teen wasn't listening.

"Riku, don't make me use these," Axel growled, twirling his chakram's faster. Riku continued to shake his head, but he faltered, stumbling slightly.

"Axel," Sora tried, looking at the red-head. He switched his gaze to Sora, eyes wide. "Please… we just want to be together…"

"What the hell is this all of a sudden?" Axel snapped, "You just fucking met!"

"We've been together for most of our lives," Sora muttered, "The army took us away from each other, and because of their tests Riku and I can't remember anything… Roxas, you were with us… you don't remember either, do you?"

Roxas looked at Sora, wide-eyed and a little nervous. "Sora—"

"Alright, fuck it," Axel snarled, breaking Roxas off. He thrust his hands out and the chakram's caught fire, making Riku and Sora both leap back in surprise. "Either you two come with us, or we'll force you to come."

Riku shook his head and turned, dashing off down the road. Sora stumbled and dropped his umbrella as he was dragged along, but he easily kept pace with Riku. Axel growled and thrust out a hand, watching as his fire chased after the pair. Before it could reach them however it was halted.

By Roxas.

Axel's eyes widened as Roxas dropped to his knees, having jumped in the path of the flames and just barely missed being scared. Axel rushed to him, waving off his fire. "Godammit Roxas! What the hell was that?"

"Let them go for now," Roxas gasped, looking up at his boyfriend with a soft smile. "We'll see them again…"

The red-head cursed as he wrapped his arms around Roxas. "Goddamn you…"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I. Don't. Own. Nething. 


	13. Unlucky Circumstances

**Authors Notes: **Fuuu.

Man, today's been a little more eventful than most of my Sunday's I got a car, helped build a chicken coop, and got fifty dollars all within the span of two hours. I smell like crap I spent an hour driving around my backyard (I own two acres and a half… I think), getting used to my car and learning how to turn corners (cause I've only just got my permit).

I do have an old Porsche, but it has no motor… so now I have an old Ford Mustang that runs with no air-conditioning and no radio, but it RUNS. :happy:

Let's hope I can keep up these weekly updates I have homework every night and when I get home all I want to do is something that relaxes me (like watching stuff on the computer and reading), and I only get a writing muse on the weekends because of that Every other Saturday I baby-sit too, so my writing muse has to be packed away until Sunday—the only day I really get to do stuff all to myself.

Bah, well, there's my excuse for the late updates. Heheh… anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

_Unlucky Circumstances_

* * *

Leon stared out the windshield of the car, tapping the dash with his index finger. It was hard to see anything through the rain, but even a half-blind man would have seen the huge group of black-clad soldiers waiting at the front gates, especially from this height. 

"We shouldn't have used a closed line," Cloud muttered savagely. "We're just lucky I'm fucking paranoid."

And for once, Leon agreed with him. When they'd come into the vicinity of the school, Cloud had gotten nervous, saying that they should go up to the hill over the school just to make sure there wasn't an army waiting for them.

And lo and behold, there it was, shivering and miserable. Leon closed his eyes. He was so glad Cloud was paranoid…

"Now what?"

"Riku would have gotten out anyway, I suppose." Leon muttered, backing the car down the hill. "We know where he's going—maybe we can meet him there."

"But the army knows where he's going too," Cloud argued. "He doesn't have a cell phone and neither do we—unless we somehow catch up to him we'll have no idea where he'll end up."

Leon shook his head. "The company building wouldn't be attacked by the army—it's too influential. Right now that's the safest place to be."

Cloud leaned back in his seat and slumped, closing his eyes. "This is getting complicated…"

Leon snorted, slamming the gas down once he was back on the road. "Wasn't it complicated from the beginning?"

* * *

"R-Riku, stop!"

Sora ground his heels into the cobblestones, dragging Riku to a gradual stop. "I don't think they're following us! Riku!"

Finally Riku stopped and looked over his shoulder, his breathing heavy. After a through sweep he relaxed and brushed his sweat-soaked bangs out of his eyes. "They're after Leon and Cloud."

Sora blinked. "Those two guys?"

Riku nodded. "They're military runaways… something really bad was done to both of them, but the army wouldn't let them go, so I suppose they just decided to leave on their own." Riku started walking again, albeit quickly, finally dropping Sora's hand.

"I see…" Sora whispered. "Wouldn't… wouldn't they come after us too?"

Riku shook his head, his eyes searching the empty rooftops and alleys. "Cloud and Leon seemed to be really important, and I guess they still need them."

Sora nodded, moving ahead of Riku. "I know of a gate we can leave through," He said. Riku smiled and quickly followed after him. They crossed the military school, and all the way on the other side was a small gate that roped off the trail into the mountains that surrounded the place. Both of them climbed over the gate and left the military school behind.

They walked on in silence for a while, slowly going deeper and deeper into the mountains. It wasn't easy walking, and Sora often tripped or stumbled, but they were moving steadily. There weren't very many trees, mostly because the terrain was too rocky.

When evening fell Riku stopped in a dip in the terrain, sitting himself at the base of an old oak tree that was growing alone at the base.

"We'll sleep here tonight." He said, looking through his pack. Sora knelt down beside him and sighed with a wince. Riku noticed and looked at him in concern. "You okay?"

The brunette nodded and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I just hurt my ankle. It'll be okay tomorrow."

Riku gave his ankle a suspicious look but trusted Sora's judgment. He turned back to his pack and pulled out a lantern and some matches. Sora suddenly laughed.

"What?" Riku blinked, striking the match and lighting the lantern. Sora grinned.

"Your pack is like some kind of magic carrying device," He said. "You just pull random things out of it."

Riku chuckled and set the lantern far enough away so that neither of them could knock it over (or rather, so Sora wouldn't knock it over). "I guess it seems that way." He rummaged around in the pack for a moment more, then pulled out a thick paperback atlas. Sora laughed again and turned to his own pack, tugging out his bedroll.

Riku opened the atlas and quickly found the area of the school. He examined the surrounding area on the map and pinpointed the location using the contours of the drawing and the hills they'd passed. "We're about here," he said, showing Sora. The brunette scooted closer and looked down. "And if I'm right, that way's north…" He pointed to the right and Sora nodded. "The next town is here," he slid his finger about five inches to the right and pointed at a dot that read Junon. It was on the coast. "This is good… we can catch a boat here and head over to my uncles place. He lives over here…" Riku turned the page to a map of the northern hemisphere and pointed to the next continent. Sora gawked.

"We have to go that far? Riku that's across the ocean and a quarter of he next continent!"

Riku looked offended. "Well… I never said it was gonna be easy."

Sora pouted and leaned back. "How did you get over here anyway?"

Riku flipped the page back and pointed to a map of the western-most continent—the one they were on. "Well, my uncle lent me a cruiser and I landed here," he set his finger on the dot called Timber. "I stayed there for a few days, mostly reading survival books and getting supplies… and then I left and went across this." His finger slid over the desert area. Sora's eyes widened. "I was out there for about two weeks… luckily I was found and brought to Serbia." He tapped the dot. "I met Leon there, stayed for a couple days, and left with a chocobo and Leon." He smirked. "We went across the rest of the desert on the chocobo and caught one of the government trains. We got off at Galbadia, met Cloud, looked you up, stole a car, came here, and you know the rest."

Sora stared at Riku, his mouth slightly open. "You… went through all that just for me?"

Riku blinked and looked away, closing the atlas and stuffing it back into his pack. "Well… yeah. I mean, you're the key to my past right? And I'm yours."

Sora smiled warmly. It wasn't a smile Riku had seen on his face before, and it made his heart flutter. He smiled back, reaching up to ruffle Sora's hair. The brunette laughed and swatted his hand away.

"Hey," Riku started, frowning slightly as Sora unrolled the bedroll. The brunette looked at him. "Why… well, when I asked you to come, you said yes just like that. I thought it would take some thought but… you just agreed."

Sora sat back and chewed on his lip. "Well… I never wanted to be in that school in the first place. And… I didn't want those people to 'test' me, but I had to. They gave me free lodging and paid for my supplies, and I didn't have a very reliable job so… I just took it." Sora shrugged. "I couldn't leave though… I mean, where could I go?"

Riku smiled and grabbed Sora's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "Don't worry Sora… It's all over now."

Sora smiled and nodded. "Right!" He reached up and rubbed his eyes, his perky attitude returning. Riku smiled, glad that Sora was happy. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Um…" Riku blinked and dug around his pack. "Well we have… raisins. Oh and some fruit and a couple sandwiches—those'll go bad tomorrow so I guess that's tonight's dinner."

Sora nodded and flopped down beside Riku, pulling his bedroll with him and wrapping it around himself. Riku fished the sandwiches out and handed one to Sora.

"Hey, did you bring a bedroll?" Sora asked, frowning. Riku blinked and looked up.

"No… Well, I have a blanket…"

Sora scowled. "That doesn't count!" He unwrapped himself and threw half of his roll over Riku. "Mou, you think of everything but the stuff you really need."

The silver-haired teen grinned, snuggling into the makeshift blanket. "Oops."

Sora laughed and took a bite of his sandwich. Both of them were quiet then, enjoying they're sandwiches and their company. When they finished Sora flattened his roll and tugged on Riku's arm when the silver-haired teen made to grab his pack.

"I'm not letting you sleep on the ground like that!" He huffed. Riku grunted and grabbed his pack, pulling out his blanket. "Riku…"

"Don't worry," he said, settling beside Sora in the roll. He put the blanket over the both of them and rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his arm and giving Sora a winning smirk. "Double warm—it's cold here in the mountains."

Sora just rolled his eyes and chuckled, reaching around and zipping the roll up. He snuggled into the warmth, waiting for Riku to get comfortable before he relaxed. Once the other teen stopped shifting, Sora relaxed and sighed in contentment.

"Triple warm…" he muttered. Riku's breath tickled his nose as he chuckled.

"Yeah…"

Within minutes, Sora was asleep. Riku watched him silently, his mind going through what they'd been through. _I hope they don't have security camera's around that gate…_ was his last thought before he closed his eyes and fell into dreamland.

* * *

Axel was scowling. Roxas knew that Axel was angry with him when he scowled around him, and he'd been doing it for the past thirty minutes as he gently patched him up. Roxas would admit that yes, it was a stupid idea to jump in front of Axel's fire, but it had to be done. Nothing got through Axel's head unless you went to extreme measures.

Roxas even felt a little bad for making Axel scowl for such a long time. He kept his head bowed as the red-head slowly patched him up—rubbing burn ointment over his raw, how skin.

"I'm sorry…" He said finally. Axel paused for a moment, and then he sighed and gathered Roxas into his arms, hugging him tightly as he buried his face into the blonde mess that Roxas called hair. The tightness made his burns twinge a little, but Roxas didn't mind. He closed his eyes and hugged Axel back.

"You fucking scared me." Axel hissed. Roxas brow furrowed and he pressed his mouth against Axel's shoulder. "I don't ever want to hurt you Roxas—but I can't do anything if you do something like you did today."

"I know," Roxas whispered, barely audible. Axel heard though—he heard anything Roxas had to say. "I'm sorry."

Axel chuckled and let him go, his scowl finally gone, replaced by a gentle smile. "Just don't do that again…"

Roxas gave him a small smile and nodded. "I'll try not to."

The red-head sighed. That was the most one could get out of Roxas.

The phone rang.

Axel scowled and stood up. The only people who called him (besides Roxas and Sora) were the higher officials. He didn't care if they knew he'd let Riku and Sora go—hell, he was the only fire-user the army had. They needed him.

He picked the phone up and pressed it to his ear, not bothering to greet the person on the other end.

"_Axel."_ The cool voice said, silky and smooth. The red-head tensed. _"We have a job for you and Roxas."_

Axel frowned, but the man went on. _"Riku Saru and Sora Otahri escaped into the mountains. We believe they're heading to the coast, and we want you to intercept them. They have information on Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart."_

Axel clenched his fists, appalled at the gall the army had. They knew that Roxas had been injured… "When do we leave?" He said, voice carefully trained. Roxas was watching him silently, his blue eyes calculating.

"_Tomorrow. They are heading north. Bring them back—alive—for questioning." _

"Understood." _Click._

Axel stood silently, slowly trying to rope in his anger. He felt Roxas approach him and closed his eyes, relaxing as he felt the small hands on his shoulders and a forehead press between his shoulder-blades. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Axel couldn't get angry—bad things happened when he got angry.

"I suppose we're heading off then."

Axel nodded and opened his eyes. "Well… better pack."

* * *

His bedroom had been the attic, he remembered. It wasn't connected to the AC in the house, so in the summer it got unbearably hot. Sometimes it got so hot that it was hard for him to breath. Opening the window didn't help very much either—his room faced the sun as it rose, making it just as hot outside as it was inside. All that he had up there was an old army cot with a thin wool blanket, a throw-pillow from the couch, and a small dresser where he kept seven pairs of clothes. He had no more than seven shirts, seven shorts and pants, and seven pairs of underwear. One for each day of the week. He had to wash his own cloths too—and he wasn't allowed to use the washing-machine in the house, so he either went into town to the dry cleaner—if he could afford it—or he took his clothes out back and washed them the old fashioned way. He was given a weekly allowance of two dollars, and usually he saved it up to buy candy—but if he mouthed off or irritated his foster parents at all, he got nothing.

He was a headstrong boy—so he didn't often get his allowance. He had to get up at four every morning and feed the dog and cat, then set out the clothes for the 'real' children. The teenager dressed himself. After that he would make sure everything was in place—the cups in the proper order, the lights all turned off, the fish in their tank. Then he would feed the python, if it needed to be fed.

He liked the snake—but it was far too dangerous for him to touch. The snakes' entire width was the size of his head—it could easily swallow him. He would feed it the feeder rabbits that the family bought—usually they were dead, but there were a few times that they'd been alive. The family didn't give the feeder rabbit's water, so they usually died of dehydration.

After that, he would go up to his room and wait until the house grew quiet. If he was seen by anyone in the morning he could count on a headache when he got home. Once everything was silent, he'd climb downstairs and walk the mile to school. He always got to class late. Every day he was scolded for it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He'd wanted freedom so much… he envied the birds in the sky and the kids who played with their dogs out in the lawn. He wasn't allowed to do that. After school he would return to the house and set the plates for dinner. The mother always made dinner at night. Then he'd feed the animals and disappear into the attic, where he did his homework. Then he was free.

He'd relished in that freedom. If he could slip out of the house unnoticed, he would be free for the rest of the day. And sometimes—even if he was caught—he could still get his freedom if he was more careful after the beating. Once he was out the door he could head to town and buy the candy he'd saved up for. But he always went to see Sora. Always.

Riku's eyes slid open and he sat up, wiggling slightly to get out of the bedroll. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. _I'm starting to remember…_ he thought, a little happily. They weren't happy memories though, but he didn't care. Kairi's story had triggered this, he understood. It was like relearning words. Once he'd been told what they were, the next day they were implanted into his brain like they'd always been there.

He remembered that family now. He hadn't even learned they're names. He knew the names of the animals though. The snake had been Nemesis, the dog Inuki, the cat Nekoi. They were the only things he had contact with on a daily basis. Once a week the father would give him his allowance if he'd done everything right, and sometimes he would add or take away a chore, and that was it. Other than that, Riku had been invisible—unless he was caught doing something wrong. Then he was punished.

The teenager was the only one who was kind to him. If the teenager caught him sneaking out at the end of the day, he would just ignore him, and sometimes he would leave candy outside Riku's door when he was young. As he grew into a teen himself, the little gifts turned into baseballs—old of course—and once, even a hairbrush. Other than that, he had no contact with any of the other people. The teen moved out when he was thirteen he remembered… he had finished school.

"Nn… Riku?"

Riku pulled himself out of his memories and smiled at Sora. "I remember my old home…"

Sora's eyes blinked up at him and he sat up, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. "Really?"

Riku nodded. Sora smiled and stretched.

"I know about my old home… It's just missing you…" He looked up at Riku sadly. The silver-haired teen shrugged and stood up.

"I think I'll remember more things now that I'm here with you…" He said as he bent over the lantern and blew it out. He started packing as Sora rolled the bedroll back up.

"Me too," Sora said happily. Once they finished packing up, they took out the atlas—and a compass—and started towards the coast. About three miles behind them, Axel and Roxas climbed over a rocky ledge, looking out over the mountains as they made their way to Junon behind them. Even further off Cloud drove the stolen car in the opposite direction, pondering how long they could go before they ran out of gas, and how they would get their hands on more if the army decided to post people throughout the continent.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Beeeeeeeeeep. 


	14. Over the Mountains and to the Sea

**Author's Notes: **It's here!

I almost didn't finish this chapter tonight! But with me it's easy… once I get started, the ideas flow until they stop, then I either switch to another person or wait a little while until the ideas return. Heheh.

I managed to slam my left thumb in the door on my moms van… still don't know if there's anything wrong with it… It hurts something fierce when I squeeze certain spots though. Haha, my no brain is catching up!

Now review replies!

Nyuu, I hadn't really meant to do this, but it's picking at my brain. Plus, I only have like, three or four reviewers, so it should work! I'll do some review replies for you special people! You guys are so nice to me… I'm sorry if it seems like I'm ungrateful, but I really, _really_ am. I want to thank ALL OF YOU for staying with me while my brain spit out this monstrosity. I read every last one at least three times!

I didn't expect to get many reviews, I was never a lucky person to begin with, and I'm just glad I had a few people who really like my story. If there was just one person I'd still continue, just for them!

I love you all soooo much:sniff:

**Review Replies: **

Hikari of the Moon Yee! I'm glad you find the fluff scenes cute. I'm trying to resist making too many and ruin the story, but I just LOVE fluff. Teehee. I'm slowly getting to the huge fluff scenes… :looking forward to it:. I think I don't get many reviews because the first couple of chapters are a little boring… Ah well. I should post a note that says the story gets better! Heee. Thank you so much for reviewing!

Dracowolf2 Hee, I'm so glad you love my story! I try hard with plots… heheh. Oooh chocolate:takes the chocolate bar and devours it in one bite: Mmm! Yaya! I'll keep this up until it's over—we're about halfway there now actually. :just realized that: OMG! I'm almost done:frets:

Ashlee-chii Yes! Run! All of my little characters! Bwahahaha:ahem: Yeah! I'm sooo happy you like my story! I'm glad it entertains you—I try my best! I like to have a little humor in my stories—I think all angst and no humor is very depressing. (Not that I don't like it… but I like a laugh too!) Yaay!

hyperactive crazygurl95 Uhm… a week? XD. Yeee! You're proud of me:sparkles and sniffy eyes: I love you:glomps: I'm so happy you like my story! I'll keep updating till we're done, I promise!

AbnormallyWeirdPerson: Yay you're back! I missed you! I thought you didn't like the story anymore! But yaaay, you're back! Cloud and Leon actually aren't criminals… well… in the military's view they are. You'll just have to wait and see! I've actually never been to the mountains. I live in the flattest state in the US (A.K.A Florida) so the biggest mountain I've seen was probably a landfill… oh, and the banks of Okeechobee (The BIG eyeball lake in the middle of Florida). Here's the update! I hope you enjoy!

Wow, I got _five_ reviews for that one! Heheh… that's more than any of the other chapters. Thank you!

So here's the next chappie! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

_Over the Mountains and to the Sea_

* * *

"It's alright, yeah I'll be fine, don't worry about this heart o'mine… hmmhmmha…"

Riku tried to keep from laughing, he really did, but Sora being Sora was just far too amusing. He let out a strangled sound and covered his mouth, ignoring the strange look Sora was giving him.

"Are you laughing at me?" Sora said, sounding scandalized. Riku finally gave in to the ripples coming from his stomach and laughed, stopping to lean against a large rock. Tears came to his eyes and he bent over. Sora blushed and crossed his arms, pouting.

"S-sorry Sora… it's just you being you." He giggled and wiped his eyes. If anything Sora's pout got worse. Riku just chuckled and ruffled his brown spikes. "You sing really well."

Sora turned his back to Riku and huffed. "No use trying to cheer me up! You just ruined my day!"

Riku smiled, knowing that Sora was just being stubborn. "You have to admit it Sora… you're just so cute."

Riku could see the red creeping onto Sora's neck and he grinned. Pushing off the rock, he took a long step towards Sora and leaned down so that his mouth was right next to his companion's ear. "But I bet you can be sexy when you wanna be…"

Sora squeaked and batted Riku away, but he was laughing. "You're so full of yourself." At Riku's self-serving smirk the brunette stuck his tongue out and trotted forward, stumbling only twice before he climbed up onto a rock and balanced himself. Riku only looked worried for a moment, then he followed behind Sora and they were off again.

They'd gotten so much closer and more in tune with one another in just one night together. It spurred on Riku's belief that he and Sora had known each other very well—and with that dream last night, he was sure of it. Sora's smiles made his stomach swirl, and whenever he had the brunette's full attention, he felt privileged and special—because Sora hadn't listened to Kairi like he did when Riku spoke. He was growing attached to the little brunette already—or all over again, if Kairi had been right.

Though, they still hadn't brought up the kiss that they'd shared since the night it happened. Sora acted like it had never happened, and Riku found that it wasn't on his mind as often as he thought it would be. It gave him mixed feelings. He didn't understand what Sora meant to the memories that were locked away, but he was important—special. Sora was Sora, and there was nothing that could change that.

After a few moments, Sora started humming again as he hopped on top of some flat rocks, shaking precariously but managing to catch his balance before he toppled into the pebbles below. It was hard to travel because of those stupid pebbles—it made walking a lot harder than it should be. Even Riku had managed to slip while the pebbles beneath his feet decided to shift. Sora had fallen seven times, but at least he wasn't hurt badly.

Yet.

"Sora, you're gonna fall."

"I'm being careful this time!" He called, turning to grin back at his follower. Riku had noticed a change in Sora the moment they'd left the school. His grins were bigger—more free spirited, and he laughed with every cell in his body. When they were at the school, Sora seemed to have a perpetual cloud or darkness surrounding him, but now it seemed to have dissipated, taking the bad feelings with it.

He was cheerful and liked to talk. He was happy. Truly, utterly happy for the first time, it seemed, in a long time. It made Riku smile—made him happy because Sora was happy. He watched as Sora leapt from a large bolder to a smaller one, and then to a medium sized one, singing "duck, duck, goose!"

"Sora, it'd make me feel better if you didn't do that…" Riku tried again when Sora's arms pin wheeled. The brunette turned and grinned, then stepped off the rock and trotted up to Riku.

"So, what're the places you've been to like?" Sora asked, setting his pace so he was walking beside Riku. Riku took a moment to look thoughtful.

"Well, the desert was hot. But at night it was actually really, really beautiful. It was pretty cold outside, but you could see the stars _so_ clearly. I couldn't remember ever seeing the stars like that in the office—my uncle told me it was because of the artificial lights there." Riku looked up at the sky and smiled gently, as if in memory. "It was gorgeous… you could see the Milky Way, and they were all so _bright_. It wasn't just the sky that was pretty though. When you looked out over the sand when the moon was out, it was like the whole place was covered in a blue cloth. I'll never forget that place."

Sora smiled and looked up at the sky. "Man, I wish I could have seen it."

Riku smirked at him. "Well, you could probably see tonight if it's clear. We won't get to the town until tomorrow night anyway, so we might as well enjoy."

Sora grinned and skipped a step. "I can't wait!"

* * *

Axel was very happy that he'd been given the ability to wield fire. Why? Well, he wasn't what one would call a very patient person. If he was forced to wait, he would get angry. And when Axel got angry, people usually got hurt, and he didn't like being angry. It took far too much energy.

Not that being out in the wilderness with Roxas, alone, was a bad thing. Hell no. It was just that Roxas was being a prude. Wouldn't even let Axel hug him, for goddess's sake! Also, because he was a little clumsy, (as much as he fervently denied it) he'd gained a few bruises on his knees, and was not in a very good mood.

So Axel, being the impatient person he was, decided to burn things. Like the rocks, since that was all that was around—he burned every tree in sight too. So what if it was against the military code? No one was following them anyway.

Roxas soon became annoyed at that as well, however.

"Could you stop that?" He growled. Axel looked up from his current burning rock and frowned.

"I'm bored! And you're being a prude!" He replied, but stopped torching the rock. They'd taken a short break a few moments ago, and Axel was slowly churning heat into a large rock he'd balanced on one of his chakrams. It was starting to smoke before he'd tossed it away.

"I'm not a prude!" Roxas growled, pretending that he hadn't stumbled over that last boulder. "I just don't feel like it!"

Axel rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands into his pockets, scowling after Roxas. The blonde had put his keyblade away, and in it's place had come his annoyance.

When Axel became fed-up with the silence between them, he decided to fill it. "They're heading towards Junon."

"I know that." Roxas grunted, but Axel continued on.

"It's about three days walk… we have to hurry. It'll be easier to catch them if we get on the same ship."

"How do you know they're getting on a ship?" Roxas growled. Axel shrugged, but he was happy Roxas was participating in the meager conversation.

"Well, it's they're only option right? The main branch of the military is on this continent—if they get off, it'll be harder to find them."

"Wonder who thought that up…" Roxas said. Axel smirked.

"Probably Riku… but Sora did get an A in strategy planning."

"So did I," Roxas mumbled. "You failed didn't you?"

"It depends on how you see it…" Axel looked away. "I did have some idea's…"

"You're idea was to throw fire at them. Axel, that's not a complex strategy."

The red-head shrugged. "It's effective."

"In certain situations—oh whatever. Just let _me_ do the thinking."

"Good idea."

And once again, there was nothing but the sound of rocks crunching.

* * *

"Cloud."

He squeezed his eyes shut and mumbled something, snuggling into the warmth that surrounded him. He growled as his body was shaken, but refused to open his eyes.

"Cloud, come on!"

"Nnn, I don't have to get up early… I already went through boot camp…" He whimpered, snuggling closer.

"Cloud, you are drooling on my thigh. Get. Off!"

The blonde made a whining noise, but he sat up, rubbing the back of his palm over his mouth. He swallowed and tried to focus on the blob of brown staring down at him. "Nnn… Leon? What time'zit?"

"About nine," Came the quiet reply, "We have to start moving again."

Cloud frowned and sat up, slipping back into his side of the car. "You should have woken me up earlier…"

Leon didn't reply as he put on his seatbelt and put the car in reverse, backing out of the thick grove of bushes they'd stopped in last night. Both of them were tired, so they'd decided to finally take a break in driving. That, plus the gas was running low, and they wanted to use the car for as long as possible. There were two gallons in the car, and only two left in the trunk.

Before pulling out into the road, Leon made sure there was no one around before moving forward. Yesterday they had gotten rid of the license plate and replaced it with a fake paper one that Cloud had made before they left, trying to throw off anyone on their tail.

Cloud sighed gently and leaned back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling tiredly. "I hate this…"

There was a moment of silence as Leon turned onto the road and started off towards god knew where. "I'm sorry."

Cloud blinked and looked over at Leon, frowning. "Leon…"

"I didn't know things would get like this…" Leon's hair was covering his eyes, but Cloud could still see flecks of the cool grey-blue. "I shouldn't have bothered you."

Cloud shook his head and moved over, sliding into the middle seat. He leaned against Leon's shoulder and shook his head again. "I'd take this over nothing any day."

Leon smiled—a very small—but genuine smile. He wrapped his right arm around Cloud's shoulders and sighed gently. Cloud nodded and smiled. It wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.

Neither of them noticed the black car that had started following them.

* * *

Night had fallen rather quickly up in the mountains. Riku and Sora stopped in a small, sandy pocket of flat land to camp out the night. Sora had climbed up to the highest point and looked out over the rocky ledge. He'd come back down, excited.

"Hey, I can see Junon from there!"

Riku blinked and followed him up the rock, looking down at the small area of light further away. He smiled, ruffling Sora's hair, (A new habit he'd picked up) and laughed. "Yup! We'll be there tomorrow. C'mon, let's eat something and get out the bedroll."

Sora nodded and hopped down, jogging over to their sleeping spot. As he struggled with the bedroll, Riku dug into his pack and pulled out some fruit and canned soup. After a moment he huffed, realizing that there was no wood up here to make a fire. The last tree they'd passed was a long way away.

He pulled out one of his empty school notebooks and tore out the page's, crumpling them up and tossing them into a small hole he'd dug. Sora looked at him after unrolling his bedroll and frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Making a fire…" The silver-haired teen grunted. "It won't keep us warm, but it'll make dinner."

Sora nodded and dug in his own pack, pulling out a pack of matches. Riku smiled and snapped it, then tossed it into the paper mound. He set the can inside of the flames after poking a few holes in the lid and sat back, waiting for the fire to die.

It was silent, and Sora was unusually silent. Usually he'd be talking about their traveling time, or some animal he'd seen, but he wasn't saying anything. Just staring at the fire, his eyes looking lost. When the fire started to die, Riku began to worry if something was wrong, but Sora spoke before he could ask.

"Hey Riku…" He mumbled, still looking a little lost in thought.

"Hm?" He said, relieved.

"What… what would you call us?" Sora turned his head and looked at Riku. The dieing fire shimmered in his eyes. In the dark, Sora's deep blue eyes stood out on his face, making them seem to glow.

Riku frowned, shifting slightly and fighting off a shiver. It was getting cold… "What do you mean?"

"Us," Sora said, motioning between the two of them. He looked away, and then turned back, but this time there was a gentle flush in his cheeks. "I mean… we've kissed… and slept in the same bed. What does that make us…?"

Riku frowned and turned back to the fire. Friends with benefits had crossed his mind, but he knew that Sora was different. After kissing Sora, Riku really didn't want to kiss anyone else—it just felt… wrong. Kissing Sora had felt right—almost _too_ right, and it had left him feeling so full and warm. It wasn't just the stirring in his groin—even though Sora was awfully cute and eatable—it was something else—something much deeper. Riku couldn't remember ever feeling like this about anyone.

What was it… Affection? It wasn't lust—Kadaj had taught him _all_ about that. But Riku felt affection for his uncle, and even a little for Kadaj and Yazoo—but mostly Yazoo. What he felt with Sora was different than the affection he felt around his family. There had been a word—this one that Yazoo had taught him. Love. Romance. Yazoo had explained it as an unexplainable feeling; you knew what it was when you felt it—even if you didn't realize it right away.

_But I can't love him just like that…_ Riku argued, _Love doesn't work like that… does it?_

He didn't know. And apparently, neither did Sora.

"I… I don't know." He replied honestly. He looked at Sora, his eyes thoughtful. "What… do you want us to be?"

Sora blushed and looked back at the fire. "I… I know that I want to be with you. I feel safe with you… and I'm happy." Sora smiled, a brilliant, warm smile that made Riku's breath catch. "And… well… you're really sexy…" Riku almost snorted at that, but he did grin, "And I really like being with you. So… what would _that_ make us…?"

Riku looked at the fire with Sora, his mind churning. "… Boyfriends…?"

Sora blushed darkly. "Well… I-I wouldn't mind."

Riku smiled and turned towards Sora, scooting closer and putting his hand on the brunettes head. How his hair stayed up like that when it was so soft was beyond him. "Do you want to stay with me like that? As boyfriends? Maybe… maybe more?"

Sora looked into Riku's eyes and nodded gently, letting a small, gentle smile creep onto his face. Riku chuckled lightly and leaned forward.

"Okay Sora," He whispered against the boy's mouth, just centimeters away. "We'll be together…"

And he moved closer, claiming Sora's soft, slightly chapped lips with his own.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Beemeeen beeenoeeen beeeowneeen.

I also don't own the song _"Leave the Pieces"_ by **The Wreckers**. (The song Sora was mumbling)


	15. Star Gazing

**Authors Notes:** Oh noes! Not another filler chapter! But yes… I am sorry! I put extra fluff in it! It is far too short… :tears:

This week has dragged on my brain, and I just haven't had the idea's flowing like they usually do. Next weeks chapter will have more stuff in it though, I promise! I have to watch my brothers a lot next week, which means a lot of sitting around doing nothing because they like video games and hate the sun. Hee. I'll make next chapter extra long!

Oh yes, savor the RikuxSora fluff for now, later… things get complicated. Mwehehe… I know the fluff is light and squishy right now, but later on it'll get less light and squishy and more yummy. I might have to up the rating (unless I already have and I just forgot…).

Anyway, more **Review Replies!**

**Dracowolf2**More chocolate! Yay:gives you a virtual hug: It works! Yaaay! Heheh! I'm glad you liked the chapter! I'm sorry this one's so short and crappy though… I'm not worthy of the choolate:looks at it sadly: But uh… :eats it: I misplaced it:grins:

**hyperactive crazygurl95**I made you feel special:tear: I'm so happy:glomps you back: Thank you so much for liking the story! I hope you like this chapter, even though it is crappy…

**RikuxSora55**Hmm… I don't think you've reviewed yet. But I'm glad you did! Yaay! Heheh. I wish I had SoraxRiku plushies… I'd love them! And you thought that was funny? Heheh, I'm glad something I do makes people laugh! I'm so glad you like the story, and thanks for reviewing!

**lunarxshinobi**Mmm Yes, yaoi for life… :drools with you: Well, this chappy has lots! Heheh… not as yummy as it can get in the future though. Stay tuned for the yum!

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson** :giggles: I love your long reviews! They make me happeeee. You don't have to go back and review all the chapters! It's perfectly okay. I don't know what state is TRULY the flattest, but FL is pretty damn flat. Nothing but trees, and more trees. Disney is awesome, heheh. I've stayed at a few of their resorts, soooo pretty. I've gotten hyper off the sugar stuff they serve at the Mandarian place… it's expensive but _soooo_ worth it!

Heheh, I glad you find some stuff amusing! I try to slip humor into my stories, but I'm not very good at it… I should try doing a humor one-shot or something, heheh. I'm glad you like my charactorizations too. I try hard to keep those guys in character… I'm pretty sure Cloud is a little OOC… but it's not too bad (I hope). Hee, I hope this makes you feel warm too!

Now onto the fic!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

_Star Gazing_

* * *

"Ah, Riku look!"

Riku yawned and followed Sora's pointing finger to the heavens, and then he smiled gently. Sora was staring open-mouthed at the black abyss of stars above them, his beautiful blue eyes reflecting the little lights. The fire was low, and neither of them felt like getting more firewood, but without the light of the fire and most of the moon—which was just a sliver in the sky—the stars were brilliant and plentiful.

Riku chuckled as he moved closer to Sora, resting his chin on the boys shoulder as they both stared up at the sky. "I told you it was beautiful…"

"I didn't expect this…" Sora whispered, "There are so many! Do all of them have names?"

"I think so…" The silver-haired teen looked up in the sky, his eyes searching out the particular pattern of stars that always caught his eye. He found it, and pointed. "See that group of stars?"

Sora frowned, but he searched the sky, his lower lip slipping out in concentration. Riku resisted the urge to lick his own lips. "That one?" Sora pointed. Riku followed his finger and nodded.

"That's Averious." He said. "There's an ancient legend that goes along with him."

"Really?" Sora turned and grinned at him. "Tell me!"

Riku smiled, Sora's grin was far too contagious. "Well, Kadaj told me, so I dunno if everything's correct… but I'll try." He cleared his throat. Sora laughed and Riku grinned at him, then he went on, "Way back before the world was created, when the Main Gods were just deciding what they were going to create, there was a young immortal named Averious. He was born at the Beginning, but for some reason he aged slower than the other gods. Well, when they created our Gaia, they decided to put him in charge of the animals. So, he spent a few million years creating animals to put onto Gaia. Another god, Caver, was in charge of the intelligent beings, and he created humans. Of course there were other gods, like the ones who made the plants and the atmosphere and such, but only these guys were important."

Sora suddenly giggled. Riku blinked and looked at him, blushing slightly when the brunette leaned back and snuggled himself against his new boyfriend. The silver haired teen smiled as he wrapped his arms around Sora's smaller body. "You're a good story teller Riku."

The teen smirked. "Thanks. Now hush and let me finish."

Sora nodded and snuggled until he was comfortable. Only then did Riku continue. "Well, there was one catch to being a god assigned to Gaia. They were forced to stay on their planet, and weren't allowed to leave. They couldn't leave even if they wanted to anyway, so none of them tried. So, when Caver finished his humans, they took the place of some of Averious' animals. Some even completely died out. Of course, Averious was sad, but just two or three species in his billions weren't that bad. Averious became a shape shifter, so that he could join his animals and live the lives they lived. However, this also meant coming into contact with humans, and you know how humans and animals get along.

"Well, as the humans grew in intelligence and began building things on their own, Caver was granted permission to leave so he could work on other creations, and he was no longer needed on the planet to make sure his creation's were stable. However, Averious had to stay and guide his creations. As time wore on and humans grew stronger, destroying habitat and animals, Averious fell into their clutches. During the time of cities, when barely any woodland was left, Averious was forced to survive in the slums of the human cities. As he did, he watched as more and more of his animals died, and slowly he lost part of his immortality because of his depression. However, he still couldn't die in any normal way. He caught human diseases, and lived through them. He attained hunger, and starved with his animals when there was nothing to eat.

"He was caged and trained, tortured and beaten, smothered, drowned, strangled, but because he couldn't die, he lived. His despair grew so deep, that he just wished to end his own life. Already he'd lived for billions of years, and he grew old and weary, but still he didn't die. When the humans received punishment for their crimes, and the cities died, Averious' animals were then strong enough without him. But you know what Sora?"

Sora didn't look at him as he hummed a quiet "mm?". Riku's thumb circled Sora's wrist as he started talking again.

"The Main Gods wouldn't allow Averious freedom. Despite the torture he'd been through, and his deep depression, they wouldn't allow him to leave his miserable life. So, Averious was forced to stay, switching his form to blend with his animals, until one day he shifted into a human. Immediately his life changed. In the woods, he found an old shack, and there he found friends—humans, kind, good humans. They treated him fairly, and he loved them, but he was too scarred. He'd seen and felt far too much pain to truly belong anywhere anymore. His only, true wish, was to die. He wanted nothing to do with life any longer. After a few years, Averious asked one of his closest friends to kill him with a dagger forged from the fires of the God of Death's rhealm. It was the only thing that could kill a god like Averious.

"Of course the friend refused, but Averious kept at it. He told his friend that it would make him happy—that he'd seen far too much pain—lived for far too long. It took two years, but eventually, Averious' friend did what the god wanted. When Averious died, Amero, a Main God who'd always felt for Averious, drew his likeness in the stars. He spread this story through the world, and people grew to respect Averious."

"Why…?" Sora whispered. Riku rested his chin on Sora's head. "He was respected for… for giving up…?"

"Well, not exactly." The silver haired teen said. "He was respected for his gentleness. Even when humans had worn him down so far, he still didn't hate them. He loved his human friends dearly, and he felt no malice or anger towards any human."

"That's so sad…" Sora whispered. "He shouldn't have died…"

"It was what he wanted," Riku whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around Sora's middle and hugging him from behind. "Besides… a few billion years is still a long time to live."

Sora chuckled and gently slid out of Riku's grip. He turned himself around and looked into his boyfriends aquamarine eyes. It was hard to see through the darkness, but Riku could still make out Sora's eyes in the dying light of the fire. He smiled and reached towards Sora, touching his cheek with the tips of his fingers and then moving them back, over the brunette's ear and into the soft spikes of hair at the back of his neck. Slowly, gently, Riku pulled Sora's head closer. The brunette didn't resist—he just moved with the force. When his forehead touched Riku's, he smiled and giggled slightly as Riku chuckled.

"There's no god on Gaia that could rival you though." He whispered, perfectly aware that his breath was gusting over Sora's lips. Sora smiled and leaned foreword slightly, so that their noses touched.

"You're just saying that," he replied with a small smile. "You _are_ a god."

Riku chuckled gently. "Well, I am, aren't I?" And he pressed his mouth against Sora's, taking in the warm feeling of those small lips with eagerness. Sora's lips were cold from the night air, and a little chapped, but Riku didn't care—he knew his could be no better. Sora pressed shyly back, leaning foreword and resting his hands on either side of Riku's thighs. Their knees touched as Riku pulled himself closer, tilting his head slightly and deepening the kiss.

They pulled away for a breath—Sora first—but then Riku claimed his lips again. He wasn't so slow and gentle this time, instead, he pressed against Sora's mouth with a bit of force, and Sora unconsciously gave, his mouth falling open just slightly. But still Riku was hesitant, and he gently ran his tongue over Sora's bottom lip for permission to explore his mouth. The brunette answered by letting his mouth open just a little bit more, and Riku slid inside with a sigh.

Sora tasted like the soup they'd had for dinner, but beyond the slightly salty taste was a warm, gentle taste that could only be described as Sora himself. There was nothing that Riku could think of to explain it—just _Sora_. Sora in every sense of the name.

Sora's tongue was gentle testing his, brushing against it nervously as Riku slowly mapped every jagged tooth and the velvety warmth around the edges. It seemed too soon that Riku pulled away—and he nearly went back when Sora let out a soft whimper of protest. The silver-haired boy smiled at the pouting brunette as he ran a hand through his hair.

"A little at a time," Riku said gently. "It's better that way."

Sora pouted for a moment, but he sighed and let it slide. When he yawned, Riku had to keep himself from chuckling again. He felt almost disappointed when Sora shot him a grin and went to unroll the bedding, but he pushed it away. _It's better slow_, he told himself, _That way… that way we'll know if this is really what we want._

Sora and Riku shared the bedroll again that night, but this time they snuggled close to each other, and Riku watched Sora as he drifted peacefully to sleep. His fingers would gently play with his spikes, and the lull of Sora's breath ghosting over his cheek had him drowsy in no time. With a soft kiss to Sora's forehead, Riku smiled and snuggled into the warmth.

* * *

"Roxas…"

"What?" Came the terse reply.

"I'm freezing…"

Roxas' brow furrowed and he buried deeper into his coat, trying not to shiver. It was so cold up here in the mountains, and neither of them had thought to bring a bedroll. Instead they had their thick, dark cloaks and a couple of blankets. Of course, Roxas blamed it all of Axel, since Axel seemed to be the cause of everything bad. "Deal with it."

Roxas heard a sigh and then a shifting of fabric. He allowed his eyes to slit open slightly, but when something flopped onto the earth beside him, his eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed. Axel sighed and grabbed his arm, tugging him back down and wrapping his arms around the growling blond.

"Sharing body heat," Axel sighed. Roxas was tense as a board in his arms. "C'mon Roxas. You agreed to go out with me and everything, but we've hardly even done anything! You should know by now that I won't do anything without your consent."

Roxas knew that, but sometimes he had to have it spelled out. After a little while he relaxed, and even moved closer to Axel. The red-head held him tighter and let out a genlte sigh. Roxas rolled his eyes and tentatively slid one of his arms over Axel's waist. After tomorrow, they probably wouldn't get any time to themselves. If they caught Riku and Sora, then there would be mission reports, paperwork, and interviews they'd be required to go through. And if they escaped and/or died, there would be even _more_ paperwork to wade through.

Axel knew, and Roxas knew that this was probably the only real people-free time that they would have together for a while. Now that he thought about it, Roxas felt a little stupid for pushing Axel away for the beginning of their journey. He should have used the time wisely…

"Regretting something are we?"

Roxas frowned, blushing slightly. "What do you know?"

"Oh nothing. Just that you seem to unconsciously crush me when you feel bad about something."

Immediately Roxas loosened his hold, but Axel held his twice as close, hiding his face in the crook of Roxas' neck. "It's okay…" Axel whispered. "One of the quirks I love about you."

Roxas let out a gentle sigh, and allowed himself to slide flush against Axel, his face buried in his shoulder. "Y'know Axel… if… if I really didn't like you, I never would have agreed to go out with you."

"I know." Axel said gently. "Now go to sleep. Lot's of action tomorrow."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KH. I do own the star story though… Made it up on the spot o-o. 


	16. Seaside Docking

**Authors Notes: **It is finished! Yay!

I made it longer than the past chapters I've had to make up for the last ones shortness. The next chapter is a scene I've been planning for a while. I'm looking foreword to it! I also went to a Teddy Geiger concert on Saturday, and I have more inspiration for my newer fic _Abacus_! Yay!

Relish the fluff in this chapter, for after the next one… well, there won't be too much until later X)

Luff goes to **Hikari of the Moon** who got my fiftieth review! She gets to choose between a picture (drawn by Teh Asa, A.K.A me) or a one-shot! The person who clams review one-hundred (if I ever get that far o-o ) will also get a prize! How's that?

**Review Replies!**

Dracowolf2: o.o Uh. Right! Virtual hugs and all that… I'm glad you liked the chapter! I'm always happy when I make people snicker. Poor Happy Bunnies liver! (I personally think they're creepy XD) But what goes around comes around. HA! That's what you bunnies get for being mean to everyone! And yay! CANDY:eats it: Yumm!

AbnormallyWeirdPerson:drools over your long reviews: I blame my friends too. CAUGHKIRACAUGH. Yay! I'm glad I make you smile! I love making people happy… it makes me happy! And I understand the Cloud thing. It can be funny, but it doesn't fit into a serious fic. I'm pretty lenient on the characters I read, but if they're blaringly OOC (i.e: Cloud wearing a pick dress, sucking on a lollipop and giving Leon big uke eyes of Doom saying "I'll be your bitch Leon-sama". Yeah.)

And you'll just have to wait and see about the myth… mwahahaha… I love Riku's "I'm sexy and I know it" attitude. It makes me giggle… because he always embarrasses himself by doing it in some way (well, I'm talking about fics… XD) Axel probably didn't start a fire because that meant he could con Roxas into sleeping in his arms. I see Axel as a little perverted too… but not all the time, because he just too cool. I remember career day! Ahh… I felt bad for one guy, because it was obviously his first time and he was so nervous… XD

I'm glad you enjoyed!

lunarxshinobi: Heheheh… I have a secret agent of mine that sneaks around with a camera and videotapes creatures doing the Naughty. It is evil and fuzzy… mwahahaha…

RikuxSora55: PLUSHIES:attacks them: Yaay! I love them:snuggles: I'm glad you liked the chapter, even though it was so short. Here's the next one! I hope you like this one too…

Hikari of the Moon: Yay! Adouble review! Heheheh. I'm glad you liked the chapters:dodges the shovel: Gah! O-o I'm sorry! They got lots of show time in this one! And fluff… yes fluff:cowers: No more shovels! Averious story is actually a bit of a spin-off of the life of one of my OC's. I just thought it would be fun to sneak that in, and his story matched perfectly… for future things. Mwhaha.

And you got the fifty? Oh yey! I'll do a present for you! Do you want a picture or a one-shot? Choose you shall! If you want to look at my piccies, my DA should be my homepage in my bio. Drop a line if you stop by!

Ashlee-chii: Hee, I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like this chapter just as much!

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_Seaside Docking_

* * *

When Riku and Sora entered the seaside town, it felt weird to both of them. They'd been up in the mountains alone with each other for the last few days, and now they were in a city so full of people, it was nearly suffocating. It was a strange transition, and Sora and Riku were slowly getting used to it again.

Instead of heading right to the docks, as Riku had suggested, Sora wanted to look around and restock. Even though Riku felt that this wouldn't have been a good idea, he allowed Sora to prance around and look at everything, comparing prices and bargaining to price things down. Riku stood to the side, extremely nervous and flighty. Something felt off to him, and he was becoming more and more paranoid by the minute.

"Okay Riku!" The teen nearly yelped as Sora came up behind him, holding his now completely stuffed satchel. "Let's go get boat tickets."

Riku nodded, and Sora noticed how fidgety he was. He was playing with his fingers, and one of his feet was tapping an irregular tune into the concrete. The brunette frowned and touched Riku's shoulder. "Hey… are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Riku mumbled, brushing a hand through his hair nervously. "I just… feel like we're being watched…"

Sora looked over his shoulder, scanning the crowds. "Well… maybe we'll loose them at the docks?"

Riku noticed that Sora didn't dismiss the possibility that they were being followed. He nodded and led the way, trying to remember the way to the docks. He kept his eyes on the crowd, suspicious and nervous. Everyone around them was an enemy—any one of them could be from the army. The thought made a spear of ice cold fear stab Riku's stomach, and he reached back for Sora's hand.

The brunette was startled at first. Riku hadn't tried to hold hands with him at all—even when they were alone. He looked up and looked at Riku's face. His eyes were darting back and forth, and a cold sweat was breaking out over his skin—his palm was sweaty. Riku was scared—really scared.

Sora frowned and gripped his boyfriends hand as he came to his side, giving it a tight squeeze and smiling up at him. The silver-haired boy looked down and smiled back, a small smile, but still a smile. His shoulders lost just a little bit of tension, and Sora felt proud of himself.

Further behind them, Axel was eating a corndog and keeping his eyes trained on the—very distinct—shade of white hair that stuck up above the crowd. Ahh, Axel knew how it felt to be so tall and distinctive when he was trying to hide. For a second he felt almost sorry for Riku. But it was only for a second. Then he was glad—because if it was just Sora, it would be a little harder to spot him in this huge crowd.

Roxas was following Axel, looking sullen. Axel knew the little blonde had wished that they'd never found them. Roxas had been against it from the beginning, but unfortunately, it wasn't Roxas who decided what to do. Axel would have been a lot happier if it was, because Roxas had some _really_ good ideas when he wasn't being angry.

"Hey Roxy, I see sea-salt." Axel looked down at his boyfriend. Roxas stirred from his brooding and looked up. He spotted the small ice-cream booth on their left and looked at Axel. The red-head smiled and veered to the left.

If they happened to miss Riku and Sora's boat while he was taking care of his sulky boyfriend well… that was just too bad now, wasn't it?

* * *

"Leon, pull over."

The brunette furrowed his brow and shot a side glance at Cloud. The blonde was looking out window of their car, his eyes trained on the mirror. Leon frowned and looked back at the road. "Why?"

"There's been a car following us. I don't know how long—but I noticed it's taken every turn and exit we have, and its windows are tinted." Cloud took his eyes off the mirror and looked at Leon. The brunette's eyes darkened.

"What do you suggest we do?" He muttered. Cloud looked back at the window and frowned.

"They usually send two agents. We'll stop on the side of the road and I'll get out, into the woods. I have a handgun I brought with me from home… You get them to stand still… these guys aren't usually very smart, so we'll have to try our best.

Leon nodded slowly. Cloud must have been thinking about that as he was driving. Neither of them knew where they were, since this was just a forested road. They hadn't stopped at all since this morning, and now Leon was thankful that he hadn't. It could have cost them their lives.

After driving for a few moments more, Leon turned the car off the road and Cloud jumped out before he stopped. As he got out, Leon noticed the handgun stuffed in the back of his pants and felt a little better, knowing Cloud was at least a little better protected than he was. He set the car in park and waited, carefully watching the black car behind them slow to a stop beside the car. Leon opened the door and stepped out, eyeing the car warily.

The driver's door opened and a man stepped out. He was wearing casual cloths, a T-shirt and some jeans. He came around the front of the car and slipped his hand against his right thigh, where a gun holster rested.

"Squall Leonhart." The man smirked. Leon watched him, cool eyes telling him nothing. The passenger door opened and another man stepped out. Leon made sure that there was no one else in the car.

Both men were standing there, watching him.

"When your little friend gets back, you're gonna wish you'd never been born," the second guy hissed. Neither of them had pulled their guns out. _"Good… they _are_ idiots…"_

With reflexes gained through years of training, Leon took off to the right. Both men started and took a few steps after him, seemingly forgetting they had guns.

_BAM. BAM._

And then they crashed to the ground, both of them screaming. One was clutching his leg and the other his side.

"_Cloud never was a good shot…"_ Leon thought, turning and looking down at the two officers. He frowned—these guys were novices. They weren't competent enough to be sent after people like Leon and Cloud…

What the hell was the army coming to?

Unless…

Leon's eyes widened as the sound of a jet engine roared into existence.

"_Shit!_" He snarled, rushing back to the car. He dove into the backseat, grabbed Lionheart, vaulted over the trunk, and dashed into the forest just as their car exploded. He was thrown from his feet and rolled down an embankment he hadn't know was there, stopping only when his back slammed into a tree.

He cried out and sat there for a second, taking in the pain in his spine before attempting to stand. "Cloud!" He called, worried. What if he hadn't noticed the jet, and had stayed back? When he looked up he relaxed however—the blonde was already running towards him. Cloud slid to a stop beside him in the trees, quickly feeling down Leon's back for any broken bones.

"Bruised," he said with a measure of relief. He looked into Leon's eyes and nodded slowly. Leon took a deep breath and stood with the help of the tree. Cloud grabbed his free hand and started running.

Apparently, the army didn't care if they were captured, dead or alive.

* * *

Despite their worries, once Riku and Sora got into the ship—for it _was_ a ship, not a boat—the both of them were excited. It was beautiful! A cruise ship really—luxury. Sora had never been anywhere near the bosom of luxury, and Riku was glad that Sora was having so much fun, because when Sora was grinning and having fun, Riku felt happy.

That creepy feeling of being watched had even disappeared, and that lifted a weight from both of their shoulders.

When they entered the ship, both of them found their room—on the second floor from the deck. It had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and even cable TV. When they entered it for the first time, Sora had taken one look at it, stared for a few moments, then turned around, tackled Riku, and laughed happily.

"I'm so glad you're rich Riku!" He cried, nuzzling his cheek against Riku's neck. The silver-haired teen grinned as he held Sora against him, proud of himself.

"Wait till you see my stuff at the office," he smirked. Sora smiled and leaned up, kissing him quickly on the lips.

"Your money's not the only reason I like you though…" he giggled. Riku smiled and bent down, capturing Sora's lips in a gentle kiss. Sora grinned against Riku's mouth, sliding his arms up around the teen's neck.

"I'm glad," Riku said once he pulled away. "Because then we wouldn't get along."

Sora just smiled warmly and pulled Riku's head down for another kiss. This one was just as gentle as before, and neither of them felt the need to deepen it. Riku truly felt something for Sora, and it flooded him in that moment, washing over his body in a wave of warmth. He'd never felt something so wonderful before—not since he'd met Sora.

When they pulled away, Riku smiled at his boyfriend and hugged him tightly. It felt so right—everything in this moment. Sora's arms slid around his waist and they rocked together gently, just relishing in each others warmth. But it was inevitable that something would interrupt them—and that just happened to be Sora's stomach.

Sora pulled away, blushing. "Let's go get some free food," he grinned. Riku laughed and let Sora drag him out of their cabin. On the balcony above, unknown to them, Axel watched quietly, his eyes sad.

"Y'know… I may just regret doing this." He said to Roxas. The blonde was looking out at Junon. They hadn't left yet.

"Not your decision…" He said quietly. "But… things don't have to go according to plan."

Axel turned and looked at Roxas. The boy's eyes were glazed. The red-head frowned, looking him over. "So… what do you have in mind?"

"Fire." Roxas muttered. "Tonight… lot's and lot's of fire."

Axel smirked.

* * *

"Stupid… machine!"

Riku kicked the slot machine with a snarl, then bounced back with a yelp. That had bloody hurt! Were these machines made out of rock or something? Stupid machine! He'd spent over three-thousand munny on this thing and it kept eating his cash!

"Riku, it's not the machines fault." Sora said from behind him. He was nursing a glass of some kind of red juice. Riku didn't know what it was, but it was turning Sora's lips red. He turned to snap his reply, but froze when he caught sight of Sora slowly sucking on the edge of his glass. Sora, noticing the star after a few seconds, blinked and lowered the drink.

"Uh… Riku?"

Riku broke his gaze away from Sora's lips and pushed his mind back to its previous endeavor. Being angry at the slot machine. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave the machine an evil look, trying to quell the urge to walk up to Sora and stick his tongue down his throat. "I hate machines."

"I can see that…" Sora laughed lightly. "Can I try?"

Riku scowled at the machine and handed Sora his tokens. The brunette smiled and stepped up to it, slipping in four coins and placing his hand on the pulley. He pulled, and the first roll stopped on a seven; and then he did it again. Riku's eyes widened. Another seven!

"You were just lucky that time." He mumbled. Sora turned and gave him a large grin.

"Maybe not!" He laughed. Riku smiled despite himself. Sora was just far too cute…

Sora pulled the bar one last time. It rolled, slowed, and Riku eyes nearly fell out of his head.

Three sevens!

The machine started pouring out coins. Sora, eyes bright and a huge grin on his face, jumped up into the air with a fist raised high, laughing happily. "Alright! Did you see Riku? I won!"

Riku was stunned. It took him a moment to regain his ability to move, but when he did he shook his head and laughed, grabbing Sora around the waist to pull him close. Sora's arms flew around his neck and they both laughed together.

"I have the luckiest boyfriend in the world!" Riku cried, nuzzling Sora's neck. Sora blushed and smiled warmly, squeezing his arms around Riku's neck.

"Well, I have the _hottest_ boyfriend in the world!"

Riku chuckled and twirled Sora around. He set him down with a smirk and brushed some hair from his eyes. "Damn straight!"

Sora smirked at Riku—a rather enticing expression on such an innocent boy's face—and rolled his eyes. "Geez Riku." Riku just chuckled and tossed his hair, giving Sora a sultry look.

"You know I'm right."

That made Sora start to laugh again, and Riku followed after him, sharing Sora's laugher.

On the next block of machines, Axel scowled, hearing the happy voices of the couple they were supposed to be tracking. He turned his glare on the slot machine in front of him. "Stupid machine!"

After Roxas had gotten his ice cream, they'd caught the ship (even though they really wished it had shoved off sooner), bought first class tickets—hey, it was the military spending the money—better live in luxury!—had dinner, and then followed their quarry to the gambling room. It was about five in the afternoon, and their plan wasn't going to be initiated until twelve. Axel had proposed staying in their room, but Roxas was afraid of what the red-head would try to do to him, since he'd adorned a rather creepy smile when he suggested it.

So here they were, watching Sora and Riku jump around as their slot machine released all of the coins it had stocked up for the day.

Roxas rolled his eyes at his boyfriend, smirking. "Maybe you should have gone out with Sora. He's a lot luckier than I am."

Axel turned and stared at Roxas with a horrified gaze. "How could you think that!" He cried, reaching out and pulling Roxas against him. The little blonde struggled, trying to get free. "I could _never_ see my Roxy as anyone else!"

"Axel!" Roxas hissed, trying to pry his arms off. "People are staring!"

Axel blinked down at him, then he snorted, removing his arms and turning around. "Fine! I'll get you in the room though."

He was released, and Axel turned back to the machine. The blonde sighed, feeling guilt knaw at his heart. Axel wasn't looking at him—back to quietly playing his game. Great. Roxas knew he wasn't a really good boyfriend… Despite what everyone said though, Roxas really _did_ like Axel—a lot. But he'd been too ashamed of it to act on it.

He envied Axel's ability to care about no one but those that mattered to him. He didn't care if people scorned him because he liked Roxas. Roxas… well, he was ashamed of his attraction to Axel, before they'd gone out. He didn't think it was right, liking a guy like Axel. Axel was self-assured, a little on the dim side when it came to complex planning, and he could be a real asshole at times. Why had Roxas liked him so much?

Axel was different. He was fresh—and he didn't care what anyone had to say about him. He would smirk at the one person who would tell him to straighten his act, and then he'd turn around and do the exact opposite, just to piss the person off. Who knew, Axel might even be a genius in the strategic department—but he sure didn't show it.

Roxas supposed that it was just that reason that made him agree to go out with Axel. He wanted to get to know him—he wanted to understand what made Axel… well, Axel. Axel was a mystery—he kept to himself and didn't bother anyone with his problems. Well, unless it had something to do with school. Axel could complain for hours about school…

But that wasn't the point. Roxas really, _really_ liked Axel, and he was still afraid to show it.

The blonde sighed, looking at his boyfriend with something akin to shame. Axel deserved better than him. He didn't want to be ashamed of his attraction anymore.

But Roxas didn't have to be ashamed… he just had to pull himself together and act on his urges! Roxas wasn't an impulsive person—he liked to think things out before acting—most of the time at least. If he gave in to every urge he had to touch Axel, or hug him, or just lean in for a kiss… well, he'd be all over Axel almost all day. But he didn't have to give in to _all_ of those urges.

So, with that in mind, Roxas took a deep breath, stepped up to Axel, grabbed his hand, and leaned against his shoulder. He felt Axel freeze and turn to stare at him. Roxas pouted slightly—only slightly! Sure, he could be surprised, but he didn't have to drop his jaw like that!

"Sorry." Roxas muttered, meaning what he'd done before. Axel closed his mouth and smiled gently. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around Roxas, taking his opposite hand and twining their fingers.

"Thanks Roxas." Axel muttered, squeezing the blonde gently. Roxas huffed, but he was smiling.

"Welcome. Now please make sure your hand stops trying to sneak between my legs."

"Oops. It has a mind of its own."

* * *

It was cold, and Cloud didn't like it.

The blonde shivered roughly, trying to make his shirt bigger by sliding his arms inside and holding himself. It didn't help much.

Leon had left to get firewood a few minutes ago, and the sun was creeping below the horizon. He felt sweaty and dirty and tired and cold—because the both of them had been running as fast as they could for the last three hours. Only when they were sure that they hadn't been followed did they stop—and now they were sitting in the middle of a forest, with nothing but a hand gun, a Gunblade, and the cloths on their backs.

"Well," Cloud said to himself, blowing gently on his hands. "At least I'm not alone…"

He'd already made a fire-pit, so now he was just waiting for Leon to return. They'd stopped inside of a small crop of trees that hid them from anything that wasn't paying attention. It wasn't the best shelter, but it was better than nothing.

Leon pushed through the brush and came in a few moments later, dropping his arm full of firewood on the ground. He reached into his pocket and handed Cloud a pack of matches. The blonde took them as Leon set up the logs, then snapped the match and held it under a scrap of cardboard that Cloud had forgotten to throw away. He set it underneath the fire and tossed around a few pine-needles and dry grass, then sat back and sighed.

Cloud scooted closer to him, snuggling against his side. Leon frowned at him, but Cloud just shrugged. "It's cold," he said. Leon grunted and turned back to the fire.

The both of them were silent for a long time. Whatever they'd needed to talk about, they'd talked about in the car and the apartment. Both of them were completely comfortable with each other after the hours of catching up and contemplation.

They'd decided that they weren't going to leave each other—ever again. Leon, though it had taken him two days to admit, had really, _really_ missed Cloud. After their balcony talk he'd shown Cloud just how much he'd been missed, and sometimes the blond could still feel the twinges in his backside when he shifted.

They'd decided that they'd call themselves lovers, because that was what they had been before. They hadn't gone a day without at least bearing a single thought about one another—well, Cloud did, but Leon might have lied to make Cloud feel less embarrassed about it.

Leon shifted, lifting his arm and slipping it around Cloud's shoulders. The blonde smiled gently, snuggling closer to Leon's warmth. He was used to that—Leon's (extremely) delayed affections, but he was used to it. Far too used to it in fact…

"Cloud…" Leon muttered, watching the fire. The blonde mumbled an acknowledgement, half-asleep. "You really smell bad."

Cloud snorted, kneeing Leon in the leg. "You don't smell any better. I hope you don't care."

"Never." Leon whispered, making Cloud smile.

* * *

When Sora entered the room, he was surprised to be thrust back against the door after he closed it. He gasped, but it was cut off as Riku's mouth closed over his, rough and hot and needy. Sora whimpered, a little frightened, but he returned Riku's bruising kiss tentatively. The elder boy pressed himself against Sora and slowly trailed his hands down the brunette's sides.

Sora gasped, and Riku took the chance to cock his head and slip his tongue past Sora's defenses. The brunette moaned, slowly growing more energetic in the kiss as he adapted to the feeling. His arms came up to wrap around Riku's neck and he cocked his head, pressing closer to Riku with a quiet whimper.

When they broke apart out of a need for breath, both of them only took a couple seconds worth of breath before Riku dived back into Sora's mouth. Sora's hands fisted in Riku's hair, and then slowly started to twine through it as he arched his body into Riku's wandering hands.

When the need for oxygen overcame them again, Sora pulled away and held Riku back gently, panting and staring at his boyfriend with glazed eyes. "W-what spurred this on?"

Riku swallowed thickly, closing his eyes and obviously trying to reign himself in. He took a step back and took deep breaths between pants. "I… wanted to know what flavor juice you'd been drinking all night."

Sora stared at him, slowly climbing out of that kiss induced haze. "It that all?"

Riku's cheeks were dusted red and he pursed his lips, looking away. "I've been waiting to do that all evening."

Sora laughed and wrapped his arms around Riku's neck again. "Well, all you had to do was ask…" Sora smiled and pressed his forehead to Riku's chin. "So what flavor was I drinking?"

"Cherry." He replied, licking his lips. Sora chuckled and looked up.

"Want some more?" The brunette whispered. Riku smirked down at him and brushed their lips together.

"You're a little horny boy when you get going aren't you?" He whispered. Sora giggled and pressed them closer together.

"Only with you."

Riku growled as he bent down and caught Sora's mouth again. It was tentative at first, and he was surprised when Sora's tongue was the first to ask for entrance. Riku opened his mouth and let Sora explore. His tongue was just like him—gentle and teasing. He brushed it over the roof of Riku's mouth, gently along his teeth, and only barely played with Riku's tongue.

Riku chuckled and closed his mouth around Sora's tongue, gently sucked on it. It tasted like cherries… Sora moaned, his back arching just a little and pressing them closer together. Riku pulled away and pressed butterfly kisses down Sora's neck, running his hands over the brunette's sides under the shirt.

"Nnn… Ri-ku…" Sora whispered as Riku's hands splayed over the cool flesh of his chest, brushing his nipples.

"You're so warm," Riku whispered into Sora's ear, his hands sliding around the boys shoulders and then slowly down his back. Sora's skin was so smooth, and Riku could feel the firm muscles underneath—probably from the military training.

"Nnn…" Sora gasped, nuzzling his face into Riku's neck. The silver haired teen pulled away, pressing a tender kiss to Sora's forehead before stepping back and giving him a gentle smile.

"When we get to my uncles office, I'll take you," he purred. Sora's face burned bright red and he hid it in Riku's shoulder.

"R-Riku…" he whispered. Riku just smiled and held him to his chest.

"_By then I'll know what to tell him,"_ Riku told himself as he grabbed Sora's smaller hand and pulled him towards the bed. _"And maybe… maybe I'll know who I am then…"_

Further off, near the engine room, Axel was beginning to play with fire.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Iz. Knowz. Ownz.**


	17. Disaster

**Author's Notes: EDIT: **Alrighty, I've checked it over and made it nice and pretty. I've been sooo bust this week…

**Review Replies!**

Ashlee-chii Yay! You still liked it! I hope you don't kill me for this one o-o.

RikuxSora55 I love the plushies:squeals: lublublub! I hope you like this chapter as well! (and don't kill me o-o)

AbnormallyWeirdPerson Hah! I wanna go into animation too! The only thing I have as of now is my art class, but we just got a 2D/3D animation class this year. I was rejected to get in though ;.;. Ah well… better luck next year! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Dracowolf2 Yay! More Halloween candy! I have to do Halloween stories… :is going to try her best: I hope you like this chapter!

Hikari of the Moon One-shot it is! I shall have it done as soon as I get the time! I promise! I'm glad I make you happy! I love making people happy hehe. I hope you like the Cleon in this chappy… heheh. They'll get more fluff now, cause they're the only avenue I have now!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Disaster

* * *

Cloud sighed and looked sadly down at the cold stream. Oh how he wished he could have a nice, hot bath right now…

"I forgot how much I missed civilization whenever I went on survival missions," he mumbled as he dipped his bare feet in the water. He heard Leon snort from behind him.

"Don't be such a woman," the brunette grunted. Cloud narrowed his eyes at Leon and splashed him with the icy water, smirking triumphantly to himself when his lover turned in the middle of removing his shirt and scowled down at him.

"Y'know, I recall a time when one officer told you to cut your hair because it made you look like a girl. That's never happened to me."

"Shut it," Leon growled, tossing his pants and underwear into the pile of cloths with his shirt. He stopped by the riverbed and Cloud smirked at him.

"Aww, is Leon afraid of icy-cold mountain water?"

Leon turned and scowled at him before taking a step into the water. He froze for a second, and Cloud smirked, noticing Leon compose himself as he flopped into the water. Chuckling, Cloud removed his pants, tossing them into the pile that Leon had just made, and joined him in the water. Leon turned and glared at him, attempting to wash away the dirt that had gathered over his body.

Cloud just chuckled and shook his head, moving over to Leon and pressing his cool hands against his back. "Wash my back next," Cloud said. Leon grunted, but didn't move away. Cloud slowly washed away the dirt clinging to Leon's skin, and wished they had some form of soap to clear it all off.

"I used to make homemade soap with my mom," he commented, just to fill the silence. Leon grunted. "It looked like something the cat vomited up, but it always smelled really nice, and it worked."

Leon turned to give Cloud a strange look. "Why would you clean yourself with it then?"

"I didn't," the blonde chuckled, turning around so that Leon could clean his back in return. "My mom would always try to clean me with it, but I always told her no."

Leon grunted, and silence fell once again as he cleared the dirt off of Cloud's shoulders. When there was nothing but Cloud's milky skin, Leon leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cloud's shoulder, licking the cool water away. Cloud shivered, peeking at him from the corner of his eye.

"You could get sick from that…" Cloud whispered. Leon chuckled.

"I don't think so."

Cloud laughed lightly and pulled away, standing up, only to shiver violently. "Now we have to wash our cloths."

Leon smirked, following him and wrapping his arms around Cloud's waist. The blonde smirked.

"I think we need to warm up first," he whispered huskily, making Cloud shiver again. He pressed his lips to Cloud's neck, gently lapping at his cool skin.

"Goodness," said a voice from behind. Both the blonde and brunette spun around, staring in alarm. "So this is how humans mate?"

Sitting there, watching them with one eye, was a large, red cat with a flaming tail, eying them curiously.

* * *

Yazoo stared down at his broken shoelace, his brow furrowing. Hmm. Wasn't this supposed to be a bad sign?

"Hey Kadaj," Yazoo turned to his brother, who was busy reading an orange book rather closely. He scowled, removed his shoe, and tossed it at Kadaj's silver head. "Kadaj!"

Yazoo felt some breif satisfaction as the shoe connected with Kadaj's forehead. "Ow! What the fuck?!" He snarled, glaring at his brother. Yazoo scowled.

"Do have this… weird premonition?" He asked. Kadaj stared at him as if he'd just sprouted two new heads.

"Uh… no?"

Yazoo frowned, staring down at his broken shoelace. "Well I do."

"You're just paranoid," Kadaj snorted and continued to suck on his juice box. Zexion had forbidden him drinking alcohol, _again_.

"I hope you're right," Yazoo sighed, standing to go find another pair of shoes.

* * *

Axel had meant to just start a small fire in the engine room. Roxas plan was to burn the ship, slowly, giving everyone enough time to escape on the life-boats. Once everything was set in motion, the ship gone, hey would return and tell the army that the ship had sunk and Riku and Sora went with it.

The army, being what it was, probably wouldn't look into it until much later—as in months—and by then, Riku and Sora would be safe, wherever they were going.

But Roxas should have clued in on Axel's obsession with fire. When Axel lit a fire, it wasn't ever a small fire—oh no. Axel had to toss the flames from his chakrams, that insane glint in his eyes he always got as he watched everything burn. It was a remnant of everything that had happened to him when he was younger, a lingering, insane giddyness that he got whenever he saw fire. Roxas should have known that, put it into account, but even Roxas didn't get the top grades in the psychology department, and Axel hadn't had one of these 'episodes' in a long time.

But before Roxas could do anything, the deed had been done. The entire engine room was now in flames, and it was such a maddingly beautiful thing to see that Roxas couldn't help but stare at it.

But then Axel had grabbed him and dragged him out, cursing his obsession and his bout of momentary thoughtlessness. Roxas vaguely heard him say that they had about twenty minutes before the engine exploded and the entire ship would be gone. He was stunned, and followed blankly. Things seemed to be a little surreal, after seeing that huge fire.

Axel went to the captain's lodgings one floor above the engine room, letting Roxas' hand go as he grabbed the fire-alarm and pulled it, ignoring the shrill scream that suddenly broke through the air. Roxas vaguely noticed that it was kind of funny, seeing Axel, the person who had just been consumed a moment of insanity, who'd just caught the engine-room on fire, pulling the fire-alarm.

"The fire's gonna get into the vents in about five minutes," he said to Roxas quickly, pressing the button on the ships control council to unlock the life-boats. "If we're lucky, we have about twenty minutes before the fire gets into the gas supply in the engine."

"Worst case scenario?" Roxas asked, his mind on autopilot. Axel cast a glance at him—Roxas always focused on the bad things…

"We'll have five minutes time to get the people off this ship and far enough away before it explodes. The fuel is distributed to every propeller along the hull, and there's six from bow to stern. The ships on satellite guide right now—and we can't turn it off unless we call the hosting back in Junon with the captain's serial code, which only he is forced to memorize. This ship's going to explode either way, but at it's worst, maybe one or two boats will make it…"

"So we're… goners?" Roxas muttered.

"Worst case scenario Roxas," Axel reminded, "Right now we have to get everyone off this ship."

Roxas nodded, shaking his head to clear it of the startled haze that had settled over it.

* * *

The alarm frightened Sora awake, and in his panic, he rolled over and flopped right off the side of the bed.

"Ow!" He hissed from the wood floor, rubbing the back of his head. Riku shot up soon after him, his eyes looking blearily around the dark room.

"Sora?" He called over the din. He felt the blankets being pulled and turned to try and look over the side of the bed. It was far too dark for him to see anything, and the alarm was making his ears ring.

"I'm here Riku!" He heard, and relaxed. Slowly, the silver-haired teen crawled over towards Sora's side of the bed and groped around over the side, until he felt the soft spikiness that was Sora's head. He slid off the bed to join Sora on the floor, speaking into his ear.

"We should go out—it sounds like an alarm."

He felt Sora nod and felt around for his hand. Once he clasped it, he helped the brunette stand and tugged him in the direction he vaguely remembered the door being in. He gently touched the wall and found the light switch, but when he flipped it on, nothing happened. Riku frowned, slowly growing more and more nervous.

They two of them stumbled around blankly for a while longer, until Riku finally found the door that led to the deck outside their room. He opened it, and light finally flooded inside, but it was natural moonlight. He frowned and pushed Sora towards the door. "I have to get our packs." He was suddenly glad that they had decided to stay unpacked for tonight. Sora stood by the door as Riku ran back inside, grabbing both of their bags from the bedroom and handing one to Sora. The both of them were still in sleeping wear—but neither really felt like taking the time to change with such an alarm over their heads.

They both ran onto their second deck and looked out, startled to see the huge crowds surrounding the life-boats on the lower deck. They were nearly trampled by a sailor boy with blonde hair, who throwing open each door along the hall and calling into them, telling everyone to wake up and get to the life-boats. He said the same thing to Sora and Riku before he rushed away. Families were following him, pattering slowly after him in night cloths, looking nervous.

Sora gripped Riku's hand and looked at him nervously. "Riku…"

"It's okay Sora," Riku smiled and squeezed his hand gently. Inside though, he was just as nervous as Sora. What was going on…?

"Let's get down to the life-boats."

Sora nodded and followed Riku as the silver-haired teen pulled them towards the stairway. Luckily it wasn't far from their room, but when they reached the bottom, there were so many people packed together, all of them nervously chattering and looking about. Sora noticed a pair of children crying off in a corner, their eyes frantically searching the crowd and calling for their parents.

Sora's gaze was pulled away from them as Riku started squeezing through the people. He gripped Riku's hand tightly, and when their grip slipped, Riku would stop until he got a good hold again before moving on. Finally they reached an area of the lower deck where it was less crowded and Riku looked around, his eyes searching distractedly.

Then he saw it. Smoke, rising slowly from the area of the engine room. He pulled Sora closer and narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't quite right…

"There you are!"

Riku's eyes shot up and he immediately put Sora behind him as Axel landed heavily on the deck in front of him with a loud 'clump'. The red-head stood up from his crouched landing position and brushed some of his hair back, his expression serious. Riku bared his teeth, his eyes narrowed and glowing in anger.

"Stay away from us!" He snarled. The red-head smirked, turning to look to the side as Roxas ran up behind him. A few people looked at them curiously, recognizing the black cloaks of the army. A lot of them smiled and seemed to look releived, knowing that someone from one of the worlds protective orginizations was there to help guide them.

"What's going on?" One woman dared to ask, stepping up to Axel. He looked at her, letting a calming smile coming to his face, probably from past cicilian training. Riku watched him wearily, making sure he knew exactly what Sora was doing behind him.

"Don't worry ma'am—just get to the nearest life-boat and get off the ship as soon as possible. Everything is under control."

People seemed to relax, but they were obviously still nervous. Axel stepped forward and gripped Riku's arm, pulling him into a slightly isolated corner. Sora made to follow, but Roxas held him back, smiling gently. Riku struggled, but he was no match for Axel. Still, he glared at the red head and wrenched his arm away forcefully when he tossed him against a wall.

"The ship is going to explode in about ten minutes." Axel said quickly, cutting off anything Riku was about the say. The silver-haired teen stiffened and stared at Axel in shock. "We need to get Sora and Roxas into a boat _right now_ if we want them to survive."

Riku shook his head in disbeleif, "How the hell did this happen?" Axel growled, pinning Riku to the wall by his shoulder.

"I got a little out of hand in the engine room," Axel stated, "And I don't know about you, but if Roxas dies on this godforsaken ship, I'm going to raise all hell in Hell."

Riku sobered immediately, his aqua green eyes focusing of Axel. "What about us?"

Axel stared at him, a slow smile climbing onto his lips. "Well, I need help with the rest of the people on the ship. Besides… Roxas means more to the world than I do."

Riku looked away, his fist clenching as a spike of fear sliced his chest. Could he really give his life for these people? Sora's face swam into his mind, and he remembered his uncle telling him that no matter how many different people there were, all of them only wished to live, and that's all there really was. He closed his eyes in resignation, and when he opened them, they were calm and blank, betraying no sign of his inner turmoil. "How do we do it?"

Axel smirked. "Follow me." He released the teen's shoulder and turned to walk towards the crowd, motioning Roxas to come. The blonde followed, and Sora nervously did the same.

"Excuse us ladies and gentlemen!" Axel cried, and people turned to look at them. Seeing people in the army cloaks calmed them, and they allowed Axel, Riku, Roxas, and Sora to push through the crowd.

Axel motioned Riku to the other end of the anchor on the pulley for the life boats, taking over from the two civilian men. Sora then realized what they were doing and shook his head, stepping up to Riku.

"No Riku," He hissed. Riku smiled and pushed him forward, trying not to feel to guilty when he stumbled and was pushed forward by a surge of people moving into the boat.

"I'll be with you soon Sora, we'll be the last to get in," he called over the chattering. He could hear Axel directing the people into the boat. It took a few moments, but soon the boat was completely filled. Roxas and Sora were looking at Riku and Axel expectantly. Both of them sat next to each other on the furthest side of the boat, and Riku sighed in relief.

"Alright," Axel called, loosing the rope. Riku copied his motions, ignoring Sora's stricken expression. Further down people were copying Axel's instruction, and a few boats were already lowering. "Down!"

"Riku no!" Sora cried, but Roxas held him back. The blonde didn't speak, but he was staring at Axel with an expression of pain and worry. Axel wouldn't look at him as the boat lowered. "Let go!" Sora whimpered, tugging roughly at Roxas arms, ignoring the people he'd started jostling. "Riku don't you dare leave me!" He snarled. He managed to break from Roxas grip for just a second, but Roxas dived forward and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Sora calm down!" He hissed, but Sora wasn't listening. His eyes were glistening as he struggled to get away. It was almost too late… he was getting too low… He wouldn't be able to jump back up from this height.

"Riku! Riku no!" He cried, ignoring people as they began trying to hush him. "Riku!"

Riku refused to look down. He kept his eyes closed and bit his tongue, trying not to focus on Sora's cries. Axel was watching him from the corner of his eye, beginning to quicken his pace as time began ticking. Sora continued to call fro Riku, even as the boat hit the water and slowly started up on it's own, pulling the group of people away to safety. Riku couldn't look down. As soon as he knew the boat was further away, he turned and ran towards the area where the extra boats were stored. Axel followed him quickly, taking hold of the rope that unlocked them.

"Someone come and help us!" Riku snarled. Immediately a group of people rushed to his aid, gripping the ropes and starting to pull them free. Riku, Axel, and a few of the guests continued to pull the boat down and drag it over to hook up to the pulley. They only managed to get two more boats down before everything went wrong.

About half a mile away from the ship, Sora screamed as the it exploded from the end forward, nothing but a ball of fire and smoke.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **No. Ownz. 


	18. Missing

**Author's Notes: **Whee! Next chappy! This one wrote itself, hee. The story's nearly over! O-o WOW!

MAN. I never knew writing angst could be so much fun… (O-o is that a good thing?) No wonder people love writing it…

**Review Replies!**

_Hold My Own_ Heheh, I'm glad you liked it! I loved Titanic by the way… if you don't mind me rambling, I have a friend who's memorized _every_ line in the entire movie, and she recites it whenever we watch it. I find it sooo funny! I just hope it didn't sound too Titanic-ey—I wasn't going for a double…

_lunarxshinobi_ Yay! Glad you like it!

_AbnormallyWeirdPerson_ Heheh XP You will seeee. And nope, the chapter was about six pages, I think you just read it faster! It did have a lot of stuff in it though, so I don't blame you! I finally got to fixing the last chapter, so now it's a lot clearer. You can go read it over again if you want!

I Hope the kitty answered your questions XD I heard of the broken shoelace-bad-sign thing from that movie National Treasure… when that map guy said that he broke a shoelace that morning and their faineancer blew up an ancient ship with them inside. I made Axel an insane pyro, of _course_ he'd get carried away!

Nah, I just perceive Roxas as a person who doesn't always express himself. Unlike Sora. Roxas is like, a calm version of Sora, with a level head… well, that's how I see him! I'm glad you liked the chapter though! I hope you like this one and don't kill me! And a happy late Halloween!

_Hikari of the Moon_ O-o ::fears:: Dun't hurt meee! It all gets better, I promise::whimpers and makes sure her bomb shelter is well packed::

_Ashlee-chii_ XD I'm glad you liked it! And that you don't hate me! You shall see what happens! I hope you like this chapter.

_ChibiFrubaGirl_ Hee, thank you! Keep reading and you'll find out!

And that's it! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 18**

_Missing_

* * *

The boats docked back in Junon, since it was closer, and a group of the king's officers helped all of the shaken passengers away from the water. Everyone was given a large blanket to block the cold night air, and taken inside a large, warm, white room to rest. Roxas made sure that he stayed near Sora, completely forgoing the mission he'd been assigned.

He didn't want to hurt Sora anymore…

Roxas gently led Sora to a bench against the wall and sat down with him, watching as more and more people filed into the small room. There weren't many… maybe a hundred or so. Only four boats had managed to get away unscathed, and each boat held about twenty people. Roxas realized just how lucky they'd been to have gotten away, even if Axel had made sure they were the first. There were five boats in the vicinity of the ship when it exploded, and all of them hadn't made it back.

Roxas closed his eyes, trying not to think about Axel. Not right now—that was for later.

"Sora, are you okay?" He asked quietly, looking at the silent brunette beside him. Sora closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'll be okay in a little while…" he mumbled, shifting against his seat. Roxas gave a small sigh of relief. At least he was responding…

"Are you going to take me back?" Sora whispered after a moment of silence. Roxas looked at him and smiled gently, slipping an arm over his shoulder.

"No… I didn't like the mission anyway."

A small smile came to Sora's lips and he leaned against Roxas, shivering. It was cold now, since the doors were open. The both of them stayed like that, waiting sadly for the survivors to gather around the room. Roxas remembered all the people that had been crowding the deck…

Now they were all gone.

He came out of his stupor when Sora shifted and sat up. Roxas blinked and looked up followed his gaze to the middle of the room. An officer was standing on a table, his arms raised to grab everyone's attention.

"Let me begin by telling all of you that we are very sorry about this catastrophe, and that we are willing to pay for any of the damages or possessions lost in the explosion." Roxas wondered at how quickly information got here, even from an exploding ship. "We cannot tell you how the explosion was caused, and there is no way that we can repay the lives that we lost today… we can, however, offer you any travel method available to anywhere around the world, free. If you have anything you need to confirm, a group of officers is ready and waiting to help you with whatever you need." He then stepped off the table, looking both tired and sad.

Roxas felt Sora nudge him. "Roxas… are you going to leave the army?"

The blonde looked away, staring at the dirty, white-tiled floor. He'd never done anything like this before, leaving the place he'd been sent to without contacting the superiors. He'd never broken the rules, never forgotten an assignment, and was a regular straight A, physical military student.

"Yeah." He whispered, biting his bottom lip. "Yeah…"

Sora smiled softly and pulled him up as he stood. "Let's talk to an officer. We have to get a room and… and I know where we're going."

Roxas brow furrowed, but he stumbled after Sora as he weaved his way through the group of people, stepping over those sitting on the floor and trying not to look at the people who were sobbing uncontrollably. Sora stepped up to an officer, and spoke once the previous person was finished talking.

"We… we need a place to stay. Is… there a way for us to get to Terizor's Isle? Preferably… not on a ship?" He mumbled quietly. Roxas swallowed thickly, feeling a little comforted when the man smiled and nodded.

"Rooms are being given by my partner over there," he pointed to shorter officer who was handing out packets of paper. "And we'll arrange your travel. Inside those papers is a document that you can fill out about our free travel methods. When you're finished, turn everything in at out office, which is right next door to this building."

Sora nodded, thanked the man, and walked towards the other officer. Roxas followed after him. Vaguely, he noted to himself that the king's forces were so much more organized than the army.

* * *

"Okay, so… what are you again?"

The cat heaved a sigh, twitching its tail to the side as it led Leon and Cloud on a twisting trail through the woods. "I am a genetic mixture of different species, infused with hydrogen and helium atoms. That's why my tail burns—it's like a small form of the nuclear reactions that occur in the sun, except on a much smaller, controlled scale. In other words, I'm a genetic and scientific experiment gone very correct."

"Right…" Cloud muttered, shivering in the cool air. "So… what are you called again?"

"Red XIII, otherwise known as Nanaki." The cat replied patiently. Leon was still too busy watching its waving tail to strike up a conversation with it.

"And where are you taking us?"

"A secret base," the cat said, looking at Cloud out of the corner of its eye. "A secret organization formed by the king, in order to break down the army. If you haven't already noticed, the ranks of the army are depleting in strength, and everything is disorganized. This is because of the influence of Organization XIII. Slowly they've been chopping at the systems in the army, corrupting its leaders and tearing down its defenses. Our organization, or rather, secret army, with soon tear the last strongholds apart. It should be gone within the year."

Cloud blinked. He hadn't known that the army had fallen so far, but judging from those agents that had come after them, it was quite possible.

"So… who created this… Organization?"

"Why, king Xemnas of course," Red II or whatever said, a smile creeping up onto his feline face. It was rather creepy… "He and lord Zexion, along with a few of the other rich business men have been funding this for years, ever since lord Zexion found his nephew in one of the armies secret training camps, sick, beaten, and with a power that no one understood coursing through him."

Leon stopped walking, staring silently down at the cat with disbelief. "Zexion of the Shinra Company?"

Red stopped and turned to Leon, looking up at him curiously, his flaming tail creating a muffled sound as it sliced through the air. "Yes."

Leon looked at Cloud, stunned. "That's Riku's uncle…"

The cat looked surprised. "You know Riku?"

Cloud nodded, looking confused. "Riku is Zexion's nephew? The one found in the camp?"

The cat nodded quickly. "I see you two know quite a bit about this." He turned again, and Cloud yelped as that flaming tail nearly slapped him in the face. "Come, we shall speak when we reach the base. I'll tell you everything."

Leon and Cloud exchanged worried glances, but quickly followed, both of them anxious to find out what was going on.

* * *

Yazoo dashed through the office, dodging people and once leaping over a stationary janitors mop station in his haste to reach Zexion's business room. As he passed his desk, he didn't even spare Kadaj (who was eating some nacho flavored chips and talking with a lisp into the phone) his usual glare. Kadaj was so surprised that he actually dropped the phone—Yazoo _always_ threw something at him when he was caught making prank calls—and turned around, staring at his brother as he pounded on Zexion's office door.

"Zexion, I _need_ to talk to you!" He snarled. Kadaj swallowed what had almost fallen out of his mouth in his shock and stood up.

"He's in a meeting," he said, coming up to try and pull Yazoo away before he broke the door down. "He's not gonna come to the door."

"ZEX-I-ON!" Yazoo snarled, tearing out of Kadaj's grip and giving the door a sharp kick. "I don't fucking care if you're in a meeting—Riku is _dead_!"

Kadaj recoiled from his brother, staring in total honest shock. For once, his face revealed nothing but what was inside. Once he composed himself, he grabbed Yazoo and twisted him around, staring into his eyes.

"What the fuck did you just say!?" He snarled. Yazoo adorned a nasty snarl and punched his brother in the jaw. Kadaj quickly let him go with a yelp, cradling his jaw as Yazoo went back to trying to break the door down. It was a few moments before Zexion finally came to the door, looking both annoyed and concerned. Yazoo grabbed the front of his suit and starting snarling.

"Godammit—Riku has just been pronounced dead and you take _five fucking minutes to answer your door_?! What kind of person _are_ you, you as—"

Zexion pushed away from Yazoo and quickly covered his mouth, looking calm. But Kadaj could see the whirling emotions behind his eyes.

"Yazoo calm down," he said evenly, letting the boy's mouth free as he straightened his business suit. He quickly strode out of the office towards the rooming quarters. Both Yazoo and Kadaj quickly followed after him, Yazoo quietly seething, and Kadaj in a state of shock.

As soon as they reached the private quarters, and Zexion closed the door behind him, setting up the alarm and locking the room, he turned to Yazoo and crossed his arms.

"Now, tell me slowly." Zexion said. Yazoo took a deep, calming breath, and Kadaj noticed that he'd clenched his fists until the knuckles were white.

"I just got a report," Yazoo said carefully, "from the Costa travel agency. A ship that left Junon harbor, carrying two-thousand seven hundred and ninety-one passengers, had an engine malfunction and exploded at one oh seven this morning. Of that group, one-hundred and four made it out. Witnesses who survived say that, of the people who lowered some of the life boats, two were younger than eighteen, and one had odd silver hair. I checked the passenger logs, and Riku was one of them, under the fake name we told him to use. He's been reported missing."

Zexion's eyes were closed, and he was chewing on something inside his mouth. Kadaj felt something wash through him—shock maybe. Riku _couldn't_ be dead… that little shit was like a _cockroach!_ He hadn't even died when Kadaj dropped him out of the second floor window! Riku just _couldn't_ die!

"He's not dead," Kadaj said firmly, "He's too fucking hard to kill. Besides, he's just missing right?"

Yazoo turned to him angrily. "Kadaj, how many fucking 'missing at sea' people actually _survive_?! I've _never_ heard a case, _ever_ about it! No one lost at sea _ever comes back_!"

"Riku will!" Kadaj snarled back, butting his head against Kadaj's in his anger. "He _can't_ die!"

"Riku's just as human as the rest of us!" Yazoo snarled. Kadaj could smell his breath, and didn't even blink when Yazoo grabbed his shirt and pulled him close. "He can die just like everyone else!"

"He's not dead Yazoo," Kadaj said quietly, staring determinedly into Yazoo's eyes. "And I won't believe it until I see his cold, dead, blue body on _this_ floor."

Yazoo's teeth clenched together and he squeezed his eyes shut, pulling Kadaj into a rough embrace. Kadaj held his brother back, feeling him shiver in his arms. He pressed his cheek to Yazoo's neck, tightening his grip and closing his eyes as well.

"I'll send a search party," Zexion said quietly, looking tired and haggard. Kadaj looked at him, biting the inside of his cheek. Zexion turned and moved towards the door.

"It's not you're fault," he said, watching as Zexion froze, hand outstretched for the door. "Riku went out because it was something he had to do… you did the right thing Zexion…"

Zexion's shoulders slumped and he moved the door silently, closing it quietly behind him. Kadaj sighed, pressing his face into Yazoo's shoulder, trying to pretend he didn't know his brother was crying.

_Damn… why am I always the one to make everyone feel better when something dies?_ Kadaj mused, remembering the time the family's cat, Edward, had died a few weeks after Riku came here. Kadaj had held Riku as he'd cried, wondering why things died and what the reason was for.

_Ironic…_ Kadaj thought, giving Yazoo a squeeze after a particularly loud sniff.

* * *

Roxas gave a small sigh as he and Sora entered their room. They could have requested two rooms, but neither of them really wanted to sleep alone tonight. The blonde looked around and noted that it was a pretty nice room, almost like his old dorm room. It had a bedroom on its own off to the side. They were standing in the hallway, where a small table with fake flowers on top was placed to the side. Above it hung a mirror, and Roxas avoided looking into it. He knew he looked like crap.

They walked forward, into the kitchen area. There was a glass table with a booth seat to the right, and on the left the counter for the kitchen. Further in was a small living room area with a TV.

Roxas tossed his blanket on the couch and moved towards the kitchen as Sora set his bag down. Roxas noticed it was just one. Riku must have taken his…

Roxas shook his head, trying not to think about it. "Are you hungry?" He asked, opening up the fridge. There was nothing inside, and he didn't know why he expected there to be.

Sora shook his head as he sat down on the couch, wrapping his arms around his stomach. "I'm afraid I won't keep it down."

Roxas bit his lip again as he picked up the phone, dialing the number that was magnetted to the freezer door—offering drop off groceries. He leaned against the counter, watching Sora out of the corner of his eye. The brunette was staring silently at the TV, looking tired and hurt. When the voice answered, Roxas ordered some bread, eggs, butter, cereal, a few ready-made sandwiches and a pizza. He hung up and sighed, rubbing his eyes as he made his way towards Sora.

He sank down beside Sora and looked at the carpet. "We'll have some pizza. If you feel sick, the bathroom's right next to the beds."

Sora nodded, closing his eyes. Roxas chewed on his lip again, and they stayed like that for a long time. When the door-bell rang, it scared the both of them, and Roxas quickly got up to answer. He thanked the delivery woman for their food and put everything away, getting two pieces of pizza for the both of them.

Sora managed to eat one, but that was it. Roxas found that he wasn't very hungry either, and soon the pizza was put away, and both of them got ready for bed.

By the time Roxas was finished in the bathroom, Sora was already in bed. He sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed, preparing to turn off the light and lay down, when Sora finally spoke.

"It was Axel wasn't it?" He muttered. Roxas froze in his motion, staring at Sora's back. Closing his eyes with a gentle grimace, Roxas retracted his hand and turned to face Sora. This conversation was already over-due.

"It's… it's not his fault. You know how he gets with fire…"

Sora sat up and turned slightly, staring at the wall in front of him. "If… if you two hadn't come after us…"

Roxas hands clenched in the covers and he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Sora… I know, but they were orders. Axel and I can't ignore them—we'll end up dead."

"They wouldn't have known… they would never have known if you just disappeared!" Sora suddenly snapped. "People get lost in the mountains all the time—they would have assumed you were dead and forgotten about it, and by the time they sent someone else after us, we would have been safe! I would have been with Riku, and we would have been safe!" Sora cried. He refused to look at Roxas, and if anything, that's what hurt the most.

"I don't… don't know if I can do anything to repay you Sora… I'm sorry…"

"I was so happy with him Roxas… he made me so happy! I haven't been that happy since I was with my real parents!" Sora cried. Tears were coming to his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. Roxas felt the burn in the back of his eyes and tried to keep his own tears at bay.

"Sora I—"

"Now he's gone…" Sora whimpered, pulling his knees up and resting his head on them. "He's gone and I'll _never_ see him again!"

Roxas snapped. He clenched his teeth and stood up, glaring down at Sora with fury. "Do you think you're the only one who lost someone?! Do you know how _I_ felt about Axel, Sora? He was the only reason I tried so hard—because he was in the advanced classes. I wanted to be with him there, so I tried so fucking hard to get there!"

Sora was finally looking at him, tears hanging in the corner of his eyes. Roxas wasn't looking at him anymore, he was staring down at his fingers, biting his lip as the tears fell from his eyes. "I… I _loved_ him! I loved him! And… and now I don't have him anymore either… does that make you feel better?! Huh?! Both of them are _dead_! I'm _sorry_ Axel had issues, and I'm _sorry_ that he lost control, but I never cared because I _loved_ him!"

"Roxas…" Sora whispered. Tears were slipping from his eyes now, and Roxas turned away, swallowing thickly and wiping his eyes.

"All I can do is say that I'm sorry, but that never helps anything." He sniffed. Sora turned and slid from his bed, standing to wrap his arms around Roxas from behind.

"I… I'm sorry too…" He whispered, squeezing. "I… I'm just…"

"I know," Roxas sniffed, turning around and crushing Sora in an embrace. "I know…"

Sora sniffed and buried his face in Roxas' shoulder. "We'll go the Shinra Company building… we'll be safe there… Riku said so…"

Roxas sniffed and nodded. "Okay…"

The people outside, chatting happily about their shoes and the latest gossip, had no idea that on this day, nearly three-thousand people had died, taking two young, tortured boys with them. At least, until they turned the televisions on in the morning…

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Beeeeeeeep. 


	19. Heading Off

**Author's Notes: **Let me start off by saying sorry for skipping out last weekend. It had been a rather painful weekend, and this has probably been one of the worst weeks I've ever had, and I'm so glad it's over. :sighs: I tried to make this really long, but the chapter couldn't fit anything else without seeming too jumpy, so I've given it about three extra pages in apology. Once again, I'm so sorry!

**Review Replies!**

Wow! I got a lot of reviews this time! Hehe!

**Hold My Own**I _know_. Man, I have the weirdest friends! But I love them all! XD. I always feel bad for enjoying their angst, but the angst makes me angst, and then I try to get happy by watching retarted flash videos XD. Ahh… so funny.

**Lyemi** Waah! It ish plot! I sacrifice a lot for plot… XD (though this story has a rather slow plot oO). Blame it on the bunnies! But I'm glad you liked it!

**Riku-Rocks** Yay, I'm glad you like it! And I'm really happy you think it's original! I try really hard to make stuff original… I hate going with everyone else, because then you're just reading the same thing over and over again!

**RikuxSora55**Here's the update! Heheh. Don't worry, I'm a beleiver in happy endings! Just stay tuned and you'll see! XD And yay! Plushies! I hope you like this!

**Hikari of the Moon** :is now using blue tarp to protect from the shovels: oO Ah! I'm sorry for skipping out on a week! Don't keel meeee:flails: The happy will be back! Maybe not in the near future but… it will be! Oo Don't huuurt me!

**lunarxshinobi**The angst… :tear: I'm glad you like it tho.

**Ashlee-chii**oO :fears: I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like the update though!

**AbnormallyWeirdPerson**I loved Riley too… XD He was my favorite! Nanaki is Red XIII's real name. He's from Final Fantasy VII, and he was like, my favorite character when I was little XD. Aaaall of that is explained here XP (Finally!) I hope it's not too confusing!

XD Ahhh Xemnas the zebra… that cracks me up…

Chocolate for the boys! It's always good for you Heheh…

And I'm sorry for missing last week! I hope this one makes up for it!

* * *

**Chapter 19**

_Heading Off_

* * *

Sora let out a breath as he stood on the dock in Junon, staring out at the endless expanse of water before him. His messy hair was pushed every which way by the constant sea-breeze that always seemed to be slithering its way through the city walkways. The clear blue of his eyes seemed to be glazed in tears, but nothing else on his person revealed the turmoil inside.

He'd awakened before Roxas and had gotten dressed so that he could come out and look at the ocean. There was still no word about the wreckage, at least on the village tongue anyway, but it still gave Sora hope. No one had been pronounced dead yet…

Junon was obviously a city governed by the king, he mused, trying to take his mind off of the ocean for the moment. The king's police were everywhere, and the entire city just gave off a feeling of calm and homeliness—nothing like the cities and towns that the army governed.

For one, the streets were cleaner, the people happier and more caring, and the air was clearer. In the cities, people could care less about you, and they were far too afraid of the army to even attempt being friendly to others. The army often sent soldiers into the cities dressed as civilians, and being in one of these cities was like walking in a forest full of hungry tigers. No one spoke to anyone else.

Sora liked it here. It was cozy, the kind of place he would have liked to live in when he could live alone.

"Hey!"

Sora started and turned, looking behind him. A young boy in a police uniform was standing on the shore, a lollipop stick protruding from his lips. His hair was spiked blonde, and there was a strange, twirling tattoo on the left side of his face. He regarded Sora with clear, concerned blue eyes.

"Your not thinking of jumping are you?"

Sora slowly shook his head, stepping away from the edge of the dock. The blond seemed to relax, and he let a large smile come to his face.

"I take it you're a survivor?"

The brunet nodded and started walking towards the officer. The blond was half-a-head taller than him.

"Yeah. I'm just… wandering…"

The officer offered a sympathetic smile. "You loose someone?"

Sora bit the inside of his cheek and nodded slowly. He didn't have the energy to feel enthusiastic. The guy lifted a hand and rubbed Sora's nest of spikes in a gentle fashion.

"Well, my name is Zell. Obviously I'm an officer." He grinned. Sora gave a weak smile.

"I'm Sora," he replied, shifting on his feet. "Do you know when they're going to give out those travel packets?"

The blond blinked, then shrugged. "I dunno. It'll be a while though… possibly a few weeks." He stopped as Sora's face fell. "I… suspect you don't want to wait that long."

Sora let out a soft sigh and shook his head. "No… I… I want to get where I'm going as quickly as possible."

The blond looked at Sora sympathetically. Then he brightened, a grin lighting his face. "I can help you there! If you don't mind a quick pit-stop on the way, I have a friend who can take you wherever in all of Gaia you want to go!"

Sora's eyes lit up and he looked up at Zell, hope shining in his eyes. "Can my friend come too?"

The blond grinned and nodded. "Of course! The more the merrier!"

For the first time since he lost Riku, Sora smiled for real.

* * *

When the cat creature stopped at a bush, both Leon and Cloud lifted their brows and exchanged glances. Both of them had heard of the 'secret base behind the bush' thing, but neither thought it was _real_.

"Well, here we are." Red said, sitting down next to the bush and looking at it, his fiery tail swishing this way and that. He lifted one of his paws, raised it high above his head, and then slammed it down on the ground. There was nothing but the muffled noise of paw hitting dirt, and the two men exchanged glances again.

Then the ground seemed to open up in front of Red, stretching wide enough to fit a large-girthed man through its seams. The cat turned and gave the two men a kitty smile.

"Welcome to the Organization." He said with a swish of his fiery tail. He turned and climbed into the hole. "Better hurry before it closes!"

Leon heaved a sigh as he stepped forward, looking down into the opening. The hole was actually a large metal tube with a set of bar steps leading to the bottom. He could see the fiery glow of Red XIII's tail in the darkness as the cat descended—how, he didn't know, but he hadn't known that cats could speak and have radioactive tails either.

"Well… this is all we've got," Leon said, turning to Cloud. The blond snorted and stepped up beside him, giving the tube an evil look before he turned and started climbing down, careful on Lionheart hanging on his belt.

"I hope they have food…"

Leon snorted in amusement as he climbed down behind Cloud. When he'd descended about five steps, the hole seemed to close up above them, leaving nothing but the light of Red XIII's tail to keep things in focus.

He reached an opening, where the tube ended and he was finally shrouded in light. The last few steps were hammered into a hard rock wall, and when he finally touched the ground he gave the area a once-over.

It seemed to be an underground cave, lit only by the fiery cat's tail. Cloud was looking down one direction, seemingly trying to cut through the darkness with his eyes.

"This is one entrance tunnel. There are five in total, and they are everywhere." The cat said, standing. "I'll lead you to the main hall. Master Zexion should be arriving shortly, and I think he'd like to talk to you about master Riku."

Cloud nodded as he followed the cat, keeping his distance from that flaming tail. "I have a question…"

The cat laughed. "I suspect you have many more questions, but I shall try my best to answer."

Cloud eyed him, frowning. "This Organization thing seems to be a secret… so, why are you trusting us? We could be agents of the military."

"Oh, I know who you are." Red XIII turned and gave them a smirk. "You are Cloud Strife, and he is Squall Leonhart. The two of you have been hiding from the army for a very long time, and we have a lot of people who believe you would be able to help us. The problem is we couldn't find you."

Cloud's eyebrow rose. "I guess my hiding spot was better than I thought…"

"Aerith and Yuffie kept you well hidden, even from us."

Leon started and Cloud gaped at him. "Those two are in this?"

"Oh they're contact agents on the outside. They don't know where we are, and we don't know where they are. They told us that they knew where Cloud Strife was, but they wouldn't release the information. We would just have to wait, they told us. And we did, and it paid off."

Cloud ran a hand through his spiky hair and heaved a sigh. "What else are we going to learn today?"

The cat chuckled lightly. "Oh, you'll see. Just be patient."

Leon and Cloud kept quiet for the rest of the way, both of them far too nervous about everything they'd just learned to ask for more until all of it came from a strong source. Soon, the tunnels gave way to metal sidings and electric lights, and then iron doors with masked guards, who let them through without so much as a glance. Red XIII was silent as he moved, but when they finally reached a huge, wooden double door, he stopped.

"I am the only one capable of opening this door from the outside," he told them, turning his head to give them a cat smile. "Don't be surprised."

Leon and Cloud frowned at that, but they realized what he meant a second later. The cat drew in a deep breath, his chest heaving out. Then he let out a loud, ear-shattering roar, hurting both of their ears. Leon and Cloud clapped their hands to the sides of their heads and watched as the door shuddered and then pulled inward.

Inside seemed to be a dining area, a huge stone room lit by lamps all along the walls, with a ceiling so thigh that they could barely see it. At the front of the room there was a large podium area, and at the back a huge, empty long table. In the middle was another long table, and sitting there were nine people. They were turned towards the door, looking on expectantly as Red XIII led Leon and Cloud into the room. As they passed, the door slowly rumbled closed, finally quieting with a resounding snap.

"Ah, Nanaki," one of the men at the table spoke, a small smile on his bearded face. "Just in time."

"I'm always on time, master Luxord." The cat said, his tail swishing. "I've brought them as well."

Leon and Cloud felt rather disheveled and messy compared to the pristine business suits and clean faces of these men (and woman, they realized). Cloud shuffled uncomfortably as all attention was turned towards them.

"Ah, very good." Luxord stood and brushed off his suit, smiling at the two young stragglers. "Squall Leonhart and Cloud Strife. We have been looking everywhere for you, but you are very hard to find." He chuckled. "And my, you look like you've been to hell and back."

Leon grunted as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry that we're not up to standards, but our vehicle was blown up and we've just spent the night in a forest. And my name's Leon."

Cloud snorted suddenly, a hand flying to his mouth. He bit his tongue, trying to keep his snickers to himself, but it was a lost cause. After a moment, he broke out into hysterics, his laughter echoing off the stone walls in the room. Leon stared at him, and an eyebrow rose in question. Luxord wondered if the blond was alright, in more ways than one. He'd managed to catch everyone's eyes now.

When the snickers finally died down, the blond heaved a shaky sigh, brushing tears out of his eyes. "God I love you." He said, grinning at Leon. The brunet could only stare, perplexed.

"Well…" Luxord cleared his throat, blinking nervously. "Why don't the two of you take an hour to clean up and refresh yourselves? We have much to discuss, and I believe you wouldn't want to talk with us when you're covered in dirt.

"Thanks," Cloud mumbled, rubbing one of his eyes. He'd moved closer to Leon, his shoulder just brushing the taller males. Red XIII stood, turning towards a smaller door.

"I shall take you to the bathrooms. Master Luxord, would you organize some new cloths for them?"

The blond man nodded. "Yes, something rather comfortable I presume?"

Cloud nodded. "Yes, thanks…"

The man smiled and nodded once more. "It will be done. I await you in an hour."

Leon and Cloud both nodded their thanks and turned to follow Red XIII quietly. They didn't have to walk very far—the bathing area was right near the huge hall. Red XIII led them inside and sat down on the floor.

"Obviously you have the showers here," he said, pointing to the long row of stalls in front of him. "If you wish to take a bath, you can both use the hot-tub through that door, and once you've been set into rooms, use those tubs. There aren't showers in the rooms. The toilets are through that door," He lifted his paw again and indicated the door next to the entrance, "And towels are in the shelf in the corner. Someone will bring you fresh cloths in a few moments, and then I will show you to your rooms."

The big cat nodded and bid a hasty retreat. Cloud wondered if he was afraid of water, but he brushed it off at the thought of a nice, warm shower to settle his muscles.

* * *

An hour later, Leon and Cloud felt a lot better. They had clean clothes on, they'd rested in their own rooms, and now they were once again in the hall. The same men were there, all of them looking tired but content. Leon and Cloud sat next to each other and waited.

"I suppose we'll start by introducing ourselves." Luxord spoke first. "I am Luxord, and I partner with Lexaeus in a major weaponry market." The large man beside him nodded as Luxord indicated him.

"I am Vexen, head scientist in the king's research department." The blond long haired man beside Lexaeus said, nodding. Beside him was Saix, head of the psychiatric science in Vexen's area, then Larxene, a specialist in throwing weapons. Beside her sat Xaldin, and then Xigbar, then the son of a rich lawyer, Demyx, and last, a rather flowery man named Marluxia.

"Zexion isn't here yet, but he will be shortly," Vexen said once Leon and Cloud introduced themselves. "He said that he had some things to deal with. I suppose we'll fill you in on things for now."

Luxord took up the rope again. Curling his finger together, he looked at Leon and Cloud. "You know of the new monarchy?"

Leon sighed. "Not much. I haven't really been in the most informed of places." And Cloud shrugged. Luxord nodded.

"Xemnas is the man who founded the Organization. When he came to power, he changed a lot of the things that the previous rulers mutilated. But the army that Ansem had constructed was an entity in itself. It had grown so strong and organized, that it broke away from the king and became its own power. You know that the army holds some towns in its power, as does the kings police, and that the power is divided equally so as to keep balance between the powers.

"When Xemnas came to power, he began reconstructing what Ansem had let go to hell. Towns under police order were reorganized and put back together, and he slowly tried to slip hints toward the army, trying to gain their towns, but it didn't work. When Xemnas learned of the illegal testing and torture that the army was doing under wraps, he constructed the Organization with our help and funds.

"The organization has been slowly corrupting the holders of power in the army. Just normal people, who gain power in the army and befriend the power-holders. The men are slowly corrupted this way, turned away from their jobs, while more of the organizations men sneak into the army's ranks and destroy loyalty. When Xemnas learned of sketchy plans to over rule the monarchy, he put more effort into the Organization, targeting key strategists and easily removing them from office. As you may have noticed, the army is very unorganized and weak. All we need to do is attack their main bases, and it will unravel completely. But we need your help."

"This blow must be hard and decisive," Vexen picked up, "And we must target the most important areas of the army. The two of you are the only two deserters with that kind of knowledge. Because even though the army is disorganized, they still keep secrets well."

"So," Luxord smiled. "Will you help us?"

Cloud scratched the back of his head and looked at Leon. The brunet smirked, and Cloud smiled.

"What the hell," the blond grinned. "I want it gone too."

Leon nodded. "Alright. We'll help you."

Luxord grinned and sat back. "Wonderful!"

And then a door opened, causing all heads to turn in that direction. A young man, also wearing a suit, was closing the door behind him. He had medium length silver hair, striking both Leon and Cloud in the chest as they remembered Riku, and he looked as if he'd just rolled out of bed. Even his suit was wrinkled. He came up to the table slowly, trying in vain to pat his suit out, looking both tired and annoyed.

"My god Zexion," Xaldin frowned, looking at him as he took a seat beside Marluxia. "What happened?"

"I've had a very bad night," he grunted, looking up and catching Cloud's gaze. His eyes widened. "So you two really have come."

"They've decided to help," Luxord said, looking at Zexion worriedly. The silver haired man nodded, extending his hand. Leon reached over and shook it, frowning at him thoughtfully as Cloud followed his action.

"I'm Zexion, president of Shinra corp. I apologize for being so disheveled today."

"It's okay," Cloud smiled nervously. "We were a lot worse just an hour ago."

Zexion nodded shortly. Leon crossed his arms and looked at him, sizing him up.

"You really do look like Riku." He muttered. Every head turned towards him as Zexion started badly.

"You know Riku?" He said, looking a little confused, but desperate at the same time. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Leon's brow furrowed. "A few days ago… so you _are_ his uncle."

Zexion gave a jerky nod, leaning forward. "Tell me—how is he?"

"He found his blue." Cloud said, and Zexion's gaze snapped to him. His eyes widened again.

"He… did?"

"It was a boy, in a military school." Cloud said, fidgeting slightly. "Sora."

"He found Sora?" A smile crossed Zexion's face. "Did he really?"

Cloud blinked and nodded. "You knew…?"

Zexion looked away, down to the table. "I knew that his blue was Sora, but I had no idea where he was. I let Riku go to look for him because it was what he wanted. He wouldn't let me send anyone with him, and he refused extra help from me beside access to my bank account. I was so worried about him…"

Leon looked away. "Do you know why he's tattooed?"

"The army…" Zexion's fingers clenched, "They… were testing the effect of Mako in human skin. The black in those tattoos is natural, unrefined Mako, in its most raw form. He's… like a walking time-bomb. Sooner or later, something is going to trigger that substance, and I don't… won't ever know what it would do to him."

Cloud bit his lip. "That's horrible…"

Leon's eyes sharpened suddenly. "Won't? What do you mean?"

Zexion looked up, his eyes dark. "Yesterday… Riku was on a ship, leaving Junon to get to my company island. On the way… the ship exploded, and only a few hundred people survived."

Leon and Cloud were both staring at him, shocked and frozen in dread. No… this couldn't have happened…

"Riku…" Zexion mumbled, looking sad and tired, "Is one of the thousands of people missing at sea."

* * *

"So I says to him, I say, "dude! You're like, blind! You're freaking _wearing_ the belt!", and then I punched him." Zell grinned as he skipped around, looking like a little boy in a candy store. He, Sora, and Roxas were sitting in the outskirts of Junon, waiting for their 'ride'. Zell had called up one of his friends and said he was on his way to pick them up. According to Zell, he was going to be here soon, but after two hours of supply shopping in the town, and a half of waiting, Sora wasn't so sure anymore.

But he laughed anyway, or he tried to. Roxas had given up a while ago, and now he was just resting in the grass, staring up at the blue sky. The both of them had tried to block out their thoughts about yesterday, and with Zell's constant babbling, it was getting easier.

Suddenly Zell stopped bouncing around and looked up at the sky, frowning lightly. He twitched his head to the side, and then grinned.

"You hear that?" He said, pointing at the sky. Roxas frowned from his position in the grass and Sora blinked, canting his head to the side to listen. As he listened, there was a rumbling sound in the distance, which was slowly getting louder and louder.

"What is it?" He asked nervously. Zell grinned.

"That's my buddy! Told ya we wouldn't have to wait long!"

Sora gave a weak smile at that and looked towards the sound, wondering just what the heck Zell's friend drove. Zell started talking again, but Sora was no longer paying much attention to him. He was looking over the mountains, trying to see what was coming.

The rumble began to grow into a growl, and then a roar, and then over the mountains soared a huge airship. Sora's jaw dropped and Roxas sat up, looking stunned as the ship drew to an abrupt halt high above them, and then began to descend slowly. Zell's arms were waving around like crazy as he tried to get the airship to notice him (it probably already had, but Zell seemed not to notice).

When the ship landed, it turned off its engines. It looked like a giant sea-monster with a lot of propellers all over its main body. The three of them waited a moment, and then the door on the part closest to the ground opened, and out jumped a blond man, chewing on a toothpick.

"Godammit Zell!" He growled, stalking up to the police boy. "Why d'ya always have to catch me whenever I'm heading out, eh?"

Zell grinned. "I dunno… it's a gift!"

The man rolled his eyes, and finally fixed his gaze on Roxas and Sora. "Well, are you guys the one's I'm flying?"

Sora nodded, standing up to talk to the man. "Yes…"

He looked them up and down, but his gaze lingered on Roxas. "You guys aren't in the army right?"

Zell looked like he'd been slapped. "Why would I bring you army guys?!" But he was ignored.

"We don't want anything more to do with the army," Sora said tiredly. Roxas nodded beside him. The man continued to look at them for a while, and then he grunted.

"Alright. Zell's a good judge of character, so I'll let ya come. _But_," He gave the both of them a dark gaze. "I swear, if you even act weird, I'll shoot you where you stand."

Sora gulped and nodded nervously. Roxas gave Cid a dark look, but said nothing. Roxas hadn't said anything at all that day, really.

"Alright then. I have to make a stop, and you guys have to come with me, despite what anyone else says. I'll keep ya outside," he nodded and turned back toward the airship. "Come on then. And Zell, don't ever call me again!"

The blond grinned. "Alright!"

Sora gave Zell a quick wave and a shouted thanks as he climbed into the airship after Roxas, and then followed the man to the cockpit. There were doors along the hallway, but he kept his gaze ahead as he followed Roxas and the blond pilot.

"My names Cid, by the way," the guy said. Sora started and looked up at him, giving a small smile.

"Uh, I'm Sora, and this is Roxas."

Cid grunted as he opened the door to the cockpit, letting the boys enter first. "I seem to be meeting up with you kids a lot. Anyway, you guys just sit tight over there by the window. It'll be a fifteen minute flight to get where we're headed."

Sora nodded and led Roxas over to the huge window, sitting down beside him as Cid started the airship. They felt it rumble beneath their feet, and then it slowly began to rise. The boys stared out the window in awe. Neither had ever been on an airship like this.

As Cid turned the ship, Sora waved down to Zell who was flailing his arms once again. He smiled as they left Junon, and he closed his eyes, wondering what Riku would have thought about flying in an airship.

"_I think… he would have really liked it…" _He smiled lightly and took a deep breath as tears came to his eyes. _"No… don't think about him…"_

But he couldn't help it. Riku's smile was branded into his brain, and no matter what he did, he just couldn't get it to go away. He could still hear the sounds of Riku's laugh, his voice. He wanted to be with him…

He didn't notice he's been quietly crying until Roxas brushed the tears away. He looked at the blond boy and gave a weak smile. Roxas was so much stronger.

"Sorry…" He sniffed, rubbing his eyes. Roxas just gave him a small smile.

"S'ok… I know…"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Booooooooooooop. 


	20. Never Alone

**Author's Notes:** Urgh. Don't kill meh?

I'm sorry about the ridiculous wait. I fell into a horrible rut, where I couldn't write or draw or do anything except be a lump. Plus I felt that my writing sucked, and it discouraged me a little. But I won't abandon this story, not when it's so close to being finished!

I'm also working on another story, _Abacus_. It's Kingdom Hearts and RikuxSora centric as well. The chapters will be a while in coming though, because I want to finish this one first.

I have a Naruto one-shot and the 50 review prize for _Hikari of the Moon_ coming up too. Hopefully I won't fall into a rut like that again. That was really horrible!

Oh yes, I'm going to try the review reply system they have here instead of answering them in the chapter, because that just takes up space and makes the chapter seem longer than it is.

I just realized that I had the un-signed reviews disabled. I want to shoot myself for that. FF dot net seems to like putting that on default, and I forgot. I'm so sorry! I wanna shoot FF dot net too, for being idiotic.

If you've read this story and aren't a member of FF dot net and tried to review, I'm sorry you couldn't! I should have realized it sooner. Feel free to slap me.

Happy New Year!

Ps: I didn't read over this chapter very well, so of there are any blaring mistakes, please tell me and I'll fix them.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

_Never Alone_

* * *

He didn't remember how he'd gotten here. One moment he was standing on the deck of the ship, the next he was in the water, sinking fast because he didn't remember how to swim. Something had slammed against his head, and he'd passed out. But now he knew he was dreaming.

He remembered. He remembered it all. How his parents had hidden him in their bedroom as those soldiers came and took everything, and left their bodies lying in the living room. He remembered sleeping next to them, trying to get them to wake up, crying until he was sick with grief and loneliness. How it took two days for those rescuers to find him and take him to the orphanage.

He was taken in to a family that didn't care about him, and he met Sora, Kairi and Roxas there. He remembered that Sora lived with an older man and his younger wife, and how he always had to share his food with the brunet because they only let Sora eat once a day.

He remembered the way he'd stumbled into a relationship with Sora, getting used to awkward teenage hormones and emotions. He'd felt so much for and with Sora back then, and being with him had always felt… well, just _right_. He remembered their first kiss, the first time they'd moved onto more physical practices, how Sora always used to blush whenever Riku said he was cute.

He remembered when the soldiers came again and took him away from Sora and Kairi. His 'family' had signed him off to join them, and they took him by force. He remembered calling out for Sora, but he didn't come—couldn't come. He didn't blame him—Sora wasn't often allowed outside after he turned ten.

The pain, he remembered that really well. They'd told him that the scarred tattoo's were only so people would know who he was, that he'd joined the army, but he was the only one with tattoo's in the entire facility. They'd burned, like fire underneath his skin, until he couldn't sleep at night and he went days upon days with no sleep. He'd hallucinated a few times, and only the tranquilizers could get him to stop talking to the ghosts sharing his cell.

And they'd just kept adding more and more tattoos, until he was completely covered in the burning fire and kept himself curled in the corner of his cell, panting and fighting to stay conscious.

He remembered the other subjects, but mostly their blank expressions. They'd never look at each-other, and when someone fell and started screaming, they ignored it, because it happened every day.

He remembered seeing Leon—no, it was Squall back then—outside his door. He remembered staring into the slate-grey eyes of a young, perplexed soldier and wondering what he was doing in a place where regular soldiers were banned. The final tattoo was injected into his hand while Squall was there. He remembered how those grey eyes had widened when he'd cried out and tried to keep from writhing around in pain as the burning started.

He remembered how they'd locked him into a room and left him there for days, watching and waiting, until they were done watching and had taken him out, using a strange machine to repress those memories—all of his memories.

He'd awoken in his room at Zexion's house, and that's where his new life started. With the sunset outside the window.

"_It's called a sunset, Riku."_

"_Sun… set."_

"_Isn't it beautiful?"_

"_Un…"_

"Hey."

Something was slapping his face. His eyes opened slowly, and they burned, but he'd known worse pain, and only blinked it away. When his eyes focused, he realized he was laying on some grass, staring out at what looked like the ocean.

The sun was setting…

"Welcome to the world of life, sunshine."

Riku grimaced and turned to look in the direction of that annoying voice. Axel gave him a bright smirk, his hair even harder to distinguish. "What…?"

"We just got blown off a ship, buddy." He said, flicking sand off of his shirt. Riku vaguely wondered where his cloak was. "I think your leg's broken though. Oh, and what's with the scars?."

Riku closed his eyes and shifted, trying not to cry out as pain shot up his leg like a lance. He stopped moving and stared up at the sky. His silence stretched a long time, and Axel made an annoyed sound.

"Hn, guess you don't wanna talk about it."

Riku sighed lightly and tried to sit up, wincing. "Where are we?"

"I dunno. I just woke up myself. It's a small island though. I can see the other side through the trees." Axel turned his head around to further his point. "There's ah… a few 'others' with us. But, eh-heh, I don't think they'll be spending any time with us."

Riku frowned, confused at that, and turned his head once he finally managed to sit himself up. "Oh."

There were two other people with them—a man and a woman—but they weren't moving, and their faces were an unhealthy pale.

Riku looked away, swallowing thickly. "Help me fix my leg…"

Axel looked at him and frowned. "Never expected you to ask," he grunted, getting up from his seated position in the sand. The water washed up and barely touched Riku's legs before drifting away. He heard Axel moving around behind him and looked up at the sky once again.

_I hope Sora's okay…_ was the only thought that passed through his mind. After a few moments, Axel returned, carrying a thick, straight branch.

"Pull up your pant leg," he said as he sat down near Riku's legs. The silver-haired teen obliged without a word, wincing as the pull aggravated his bruise. His leg was swollen and bruised, but he was relieved to find that it didn't look that bad. At least no bones sticking out of the skin.

"Ah, this'll heal in a while." Axel said, setting the branch beside Riku's leg. He stood up and moved over to one of the body's, kneeling down next to it. "Heh, sorry mister. I need my shirt a little more than you do. Hope you don't mind."

Riku's fingers fisted the sand below him idly while he looked off into the horizon. He felt strange, distant. As if he wasn't really here, in his body. Before he remembered, he knew that he hadn't been through as much as he had, and now… being outside in the sun, that felt better than anything.

Axel returned and tore the fabric of the mans shirt into ribbons, using them to tightly secure the sticks to Riku's leg. He had Riku tie some to a gash on his own arm, then the red-head stood and stretched. It was getting darker, and the sun was halfway below the endless sea.

"First things first," Axel said lightly, turning to the two bodies. He dropped a hand for Riku to grab, and the silver-haired teen used it to pull himself up onto his good leg, ignoring the pain coursing through the newly bandaged one. "Let's give these guys a proper homage."

Riku moved over to more solid ground, knowing he would be of no use to Axel in his current state, especially in the sand. He grabbed the nearest tree and watched quietly as Axel brought both bodies further on shore. He removed their pants and the woman's shirt, setting them with Riku with the words "Can't waste things on such a small island" and then arranged them beside each other. "I'll let them dry out, and then we'll send them off to sea."

Riku nodded and bent to pick up the cloth. He fiddled around in the pockets and found a watch and a wallet, as well as a soggy pack of gum. When Axel was finished with the couple, he turned back to Riku and nodded to the other side of the island, which wasn't more than a few feet behind them.

Riku split the gum and handed one half to Axel. "Call it dinner I guess."

The red-head laughed and took it as he started trudging through the undergrowth, clearing a path so Riku could hobble along with a bit more ease. "I'll check the island out tomorrow, it's getting too dark now."

Riku nodded. Once they were through the foliage, Riku sat down near the edge of the forest and leaned back, his eyes closed. Axel sat beside him, pulling out one of his three sticks of gum. "I suppose you remember now, then."

Riku grunted, cracking open one eye. "How do you suppose?"

Axel shrugged. "You seem different… like some of the soldiers who've been through more than others."

Riku looked away, taking out his own stick of gum. He looked down at his leg, flat against the sand as he nodded slowly. "I got knocked in the head, I think… I guess it jogged by memory."

Axel chuckled. "Memory repressors don't work that well nowadays. I guess all you needed was a good knock to the back of the head in the memory region."

Riku snorted. "Yeah, I'd rather live without the memories, thanks."

The red-head looked at him seriously suddenly, and Riku knew what was coming. "Do… you wanna talk about it? Y'know… health class stuff. They say it's best to talk to someone else."

Riku looked pensive as he slipped his gum into his mouth. Then he started talking, and he found that once he started, he couldn't stop. He told Axel everything, from his parent's murder, to waking up in Zexion's company office-house and asking him to travel around to find his blue. It was at least a good hour that he talked, because the stars were out, and there was nothing but the moon to light the ocean when he finished. Axel had been silent the entire time, just listening and making urging noises when Riku paused to collect himself.

"Damn," he said quietly, running a hand through his red hair once Riku had finished. "That's quite a life."

Riku chuckled weakly. He felt… relieved. Spent, and tired—as if he'd just gone through those things in the span of a few minutes, but he felt good. As if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess we all have our boring life-stories."

Axel shook his head slowly. "You are a little different, now that you know."

Riku stopped chewing him gum and looked at the ocean for a moment, quiet. "I guess the Riku you knew before… has gone. He was probably what I was before I was taken away from Sora."

Axel sighed and looked at Riku, noticing the way his eyes seemed darker. There was hardly a flame there. He remembered Riku's eyes as full of fire, and a smirk always ready to creep onto his face. But now, he didn't know where that confident smirk had gone, nor the fire in his eyes. He was… almost like a doll.

"You should get some rest," Axel said after a long silence. Riku stirred from his ocean staring and looked at Axel. He nodded and sighed as he leaned back, curling himself near a tree. Axel leaned back as well, turning his back to Riku as he closed his eyes. He wondered vaguely what Sora would think of this new Riku.

* * *

"Uh… Mr. Cid? Why are we landing in a forest?"

Sora stared out the cockpit window with a frown as the Sierra came to a sudden stop. They were in a large clearing, surrounded by miles and miles of forest on every side. Cid grunted.

"This is where I have to pick something up. You kids just sit tight, and don't worry about nothin'. I got everything under control." He told them, flicking a few switches at his pilot's podium before stepping off and turning towards the hallway that lead to the exit of the ship. "Don't touch nothin' either."

With that, Cid turned and left, leaving Roxas and Sora confused, but content to wait. Besides, they were getting where they were supposed to be.

Cid walked a few paces ahead, and stopped near a rather leafy bush. He eyed it for a second in exasperation, and then stomped one booted foot into the ground. He felt something snap up his body, regarding him for a second, before the click of the lock. He bent down and felt around in the grass for the edge of the opening, and when he found it he let out a small cry of relief. He pushed the door up, and then slipped down onto the stairs, closing it above him.

He descended in darkness. When he reached the ground, he shuffled around in his pockets and pulled out a lighter. Once he got a glimpse of the entrance, he would know where he was going.

He flicked the lighter on, and gazed at his surroundings. Yup, he was in the right place. Blowing out the flame, Cid put the lighter back into his pocket and rested his hand on the wall, following it down the left. It was silent in the caves, and he couldn't see a thing, but that was okay—he didn't have to.

A faint light started to glow ahead, and he squinted. He couldn't be at the base that soon could he?

Not a moment later Red XIII turned the corner, throwing the shadows back with the light of his tail. He stopped in front of Cid and looked up at him, grown his cat smile. "Welcome back Cid." He said brightly. "I thought I felt a disturbance in the locking system, and decided to check on it."

Cid snorted. There were just some things that were never meant to be explained, and Red was once of them. "Xemnas contacted me and said you needed help with something."

The cat bobbed its head and turned around, making Cid bend back to dodge the flaming tail. "The other members of the organization are gathered in the meeting hall. I'll take you there."

Cid blinked. "So Zexion's here? I have a couple kids who're trying to get to his place."

The fire cat blinked. "That's odd. Well, you could lead them down here to meet with Zexion once we talk to you about what we need done."

Cid grumbled but nodded and followed the big cat as they walked through the tunnels. He was led in twists and turns, and it wasn't long before he found himself in a hallway with doors on either side. Red led him down the hall until they reached the middle. Cid grumbled a thanks and opened the door into the meeting room.

Heads turned. He closed the door behind him and brushed off his shirt with a bit of a scowl. "Alright, who's bright idea was it to call me out from home?"

"_Cid_?"

That voice was painfully familiar. The scruffy blond looked up and scanned the table. One of the men stood up, and he wore an expression of cool surprise. Cid gawked.

"Leon? What the hell are you doin' here?"

The brunet frowned. "I could be asking you the same question."

Luxord stood, calling attention to him with a cough. "I suppose this means we won't have to introduce you."

Cid grumbled in annoyance as he skulked up to the table, standing between Luxord and Lexaeus. "The kid disappeared without a trace, taking one of the town's chocobo's and that Riku kid with him."

Luxord frowned, obviously interested, but he seemed to push it aside. "We meant to talk to you about the attack we're planning. Leon and Cloud have agreed to help aid us in our plans."

Cid's head swiveled around and he met eyes with Leon and Cloud. His eyes narrowed on Cloud, who looked a little overwhelmed. "These two? What good are they for?"

"Leon is a traitor from the army, and he has information that we might not have gotten otherwise. Cloud was a bit of a… test subject. He can read through computer files with his mind, thanks to severe Mako poisoning."

Cloud eyed Luxord with a nervous eye. "Are you guys stalking me or something?"

Demyx laughed. "Nah, that's pure fact in the science departments. Nothin' to worry about."

"I knew something was up with you Leon." Cid shook his head and narrowed his eyes at Luxord. "I guess I'm not secret enough to be given the info, eh?"

Luxord had the good grace to look sheepish. "It was information that you might not have needed. We should have contacted you about it, but at the time you were still being proven."

Cid rolled his eyes. "You young guys and yer stupid trust issues." He looked at Leon and Cloud and frowned. "Oh don't tell me you guys are together?"

They flushed and Cid groaned. "What's the world comin' to?"

Larxene suddenly stood, smirking at Cid. "Sorry to interrupt Cid, but I'd like to speak with you for a moment."

The scruffy blond looked at her and shrugged, moving to follow, but then he remembered the two boys sitting in his airship. He turned to Zexion. "Hey, there's a coupla kids in my airship. Said they needed to get to your island. One's a blond, and the others got brown hair and these really big blue eyes." He moved his hands in front if his eyes to emphasize it. "Roxey and Zora or somethin'."

Zexion stood up so quickly that his chair fell back. "Roxas and Sora?" He gasped. Cid blinked and nodded. The silver-haired mans hands clenched on the table, and something resembling hope blossomed in his gaze.

"May I get them Cid?" He asked, nearly breathless. Cid eyed him but nodded slowly. "Thank you. I'm sorry Luxord, but since the meeting has concluded, I'll be leaving." He turned and bowed politely as the blond nodded, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Cloud stopped him. He looked over his shoulder, fists clenching in anticipation. "Take us to meet them," Cloud said, setting his hand on Leon's shoulder as he stood. "Sora's the one Riku was looking for."

Zexion looked at them for a moment, and then nodded, turning and briskly exiting the hall, Cloud and Leon on his heels.

Cid stared after them along with everyone else. "Well," He grunted. "What are we gonna talk about?"

* * *

Zexion was walking as fast as he could, and Leon and Cloud were having a bit of trouble keeping up with him. Red had been waiting outside the door, and he led them quickly down the tunnel to the entrance that Cid had used.

_Sora's here…_

His fingers flexed in anticipation. He hadn't seen Sora in so long—and even then, the boy had been almost too young to remember him.

Red stopped at the ladder, sitting down as Zexion quickly started ascending. Leon and Cloud followed him quietly.

"Good luck Master Zexion," The big cat called as Zexion unlocked the door to the tunnel entrance and climbed out, waiting for Leon and Cloud before he closed it and turned. Cid's airship was a little ways away, the new Sierra he'd been harping over. He walked towards it, his eyes taking in its shape.

"So he finally finished it," Leon grunted from behind. "Looks… strong."

Zexion had to agree with him. With a grunt, he pulled open the entrance door and climbed inside, turning down the hall that seemed to go to the front of the ship. There were doors to his right, and the walkway was suspended over the pipes and mechanics, like the walkways in a submarine. He gripped the metal railing as he clomped foreword, his eyes on the door that read 'cockpit'.

When he opened the door, he was blinded by sunlight for a second. He shook it off and climbed inside. There was the pilots podium and the wheel the steered the ship, along with all the other mechanisms. Sitting over in a corner, on top of the glass that expanded over the floor, were two boys who looked at them in surprise and a little fear.

His eyes met blue.

"Sora." He gasped, trembling. This was the boy that Riku had been searching for… "It really is you."

The brunet stood, brushing off his pants. He was a little on the short side, but he wasn't that old either. He looked to be fifteen, maybe sixteen. The blond behind him stood as well, and his cool gaze locked on Zexion with suspicion.

"I'm Zexion," he said with a sigh. "Riku's uncle."

Sora's eyes widened, and then drooped. "Mr. Zexion, Riku's—"

"I know," Zexion muttered, looking away. Sora closed his mouth and looked at him, and they stood in silence. A slow smile came to Zexion's face, and he chuckled. "You know, Kadaj won't believe it. Not until he had Riku's body lying at his feet."

Sora looked up, his eyes wide. "Riku talked about Kadaj a lot…"

"He would. Kadaj was his tormentor." Zexion looked up at last and smiled at Sora. "And I won't believe that Riku's dead either."

Sora stared at him, and then a small smile grew on his face. His blue eyes glittered, and his smile turned into a grin. "Neither will I."

Roxas looked at Sora and smiled too, but it was still small. Sora stepped up to Zexion and held out his hand.

"I'm Sora, and this is Roxas. I think you might already know me though." He smiled. Zexion grunted and took his hand. Leon suddenly stepped around him, making his presence known.

"So you're the one Riku was looked for." Leon grunted. Cloud rolled his eyes and came to stand beside him.

"This is Leon, and I'm Cloud. I don't know if Riku mentioned us."

Sora blinked and cocked his head. A small smile quirked his lips up. "Riku's adoptive parents?"

Leon blanched and Cloud looked like he'd swallowed a melon. Sora blinked at them, frowning slightly. Leon opened him mouth, but Cloud beat him to it. "Uh, sure."

The brunets frown grew, but he seemed to shake it off. He smiled up at them, then turned to Zexion. "So… are we going to your island?"

Zexion nodded. "My airship is a little further from here. I used this entrance to get inside the base as well." He looked at Roxas, who was staring at the floor. "You were in the army."

Roxas' head snapped up and he scowled. "Not anymore. I'm willing to do anything to destroy them."

Zexion eyed him. "We might have a use for you."

Roxas frowned at him, but Zexion didn't offer an explanation. He turned to Leon and Cloud and grunted. "Are you guys coming?"

Leon shook his head. "We're going to stay here and see what we can do."

The silver-haired man nodded and turned towards the door, looking at Sora and Roxas. "Come with me."

The two of them nodded to Leon and Cloud as they passed, and Zexion led them out of the airship and towards his own, his eyes narrowed.

They would find Riku. They _had_ to.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Booooooooop. 


	21. On the Edge

**Authors Notes: **Here's the next chapter! Now we're rising to the climax!

Thank you all for your reviews! I love them all!!!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_Near the Edge_

* * *

Riku wondered if it was possible for a person to die of exasperation. 

"For the last time, we can't use fire to cross _water_ Axel." He snapped, hopping over to a tree. Godammit, his leg was _really_ getting on his nerves.

"I know that!" The red-head snapped, currently torching a pile of leaves. "I'm just trying to be imaginative! Plus, maybe one of the ships coming to investigate the wreckage will see."

Riku's head hurt. He heaved a sigh and gingerly lowered himself into the sand, glaring at his leg. He'd long ago forsaken his shirt, and now sat in the thin pants that he'd been wearing when they left the ship. Axel hadn't mentioned his scars since the first day, and he found that he really just didn't care anymore. It was hot, he was hungry, and he wanted to get away from water for the rest of his life.

Axel had taken to burning things for entertainment. It probably took his mind off of his stomach. To get safe drinking water, the two of them had devised a way of getting it from the sea. Axel had made a few rock bowls molded with his flames from the sand, and filled one bowel with water from the ocean. They managed to tie a leaf over the bowel and set it on a fire on the ground. The leaf was large, and set at an angle so that the condensation dripped from it and into another bowel.

They didn't get much water from it, but it kept them from dying. Riku could go for some clean water too. Nice, cool, tasty water that flowed over his tongue and down his throat like silk—

A sharp pain jerked up his leg and he hissed. "Goddamn this fucking _leg!_" He snarled, setting his hands on it and trying to sooth it. Axel's head swiveled around to blink at him.

Riku frowned as warmth crept up his leg. It felt as if it had been dipped into a vat of warm honey. He blinked and pulled his hands away.

The bruise was gone.

He stared down at the leg is disbelief, then tried to move it. It didn't hurt at all.

"What the hell?" He mumbled, grabbing a nearby tree and standing up. He tentatively set his foot down and put some pressure on it. Nothing. Not even a twinge.

"Axel," He breathed. The red-head was staring too, his mouth slightly open. "I think I just healed my leg."

"Wow…" Axel moved closer, his eyes taking in the sight of the clean skin. "Maybe that's what those tattoos do."

Riku frowned in thought as he continued to test his leg. It still twinged a little, but it was a bearable pain. He turned his hands over and looked at the palms, his eyes following the swirls embedded into them. "Maybe."

Axel grunted and turned around, absently kicking another log into his fire. "You never know with the creeps in the army."

Riku just sighed and sat down again, examining his fingers. "Maybe…"

He shook his head and leaned back, brushing his hair from his eyes as he gazed up at the sky. His thoughts drifted back to Sora, and he imagined what he could be doing. He refused to believe that Sora had gotten caught up in the explosion, and nothing would change his mind. He knew Sora was alive, and probably worried about him.

_Don't worry Sora… I'll find a way to get back to you…_

* * *

The first impression Sora got of Zexion's island wasn't what he'd imagined. 

He'd imagined an island with civilization. Maybe a tourist area, because islands were usually used for those specific purposes, and maybe a few miles across. What he found wasn't what he'd expected however.

When he, Roxas and Zexion stepped off of the airship (crewed by Some of Zexion's employee's), they were surrounded by a forest. They stood on a tower that jutted up from the ground—where multiple aircrafts could land and lift off. The wind tore around him, making his hair even messier than usual. Ahead there was a glass encircled walkway leading into the huge building across from him. As he examined the area, he noticed that the island was nothing but a two mile forested dot of land near the southern continent. The walkway connected to what was probably the twelfth floor, and it stretched to about sixty stories. Other smaller buildings surrounded the tower, linked to it by glass walkways on different floors.

He stumbled forward as Roxas tugged on his arm, taking his attention away form the area. Zexion had stepped toward the doors into the walkway swiftly, obviously intending them to follow, and Sora fell into step behind him with Roxas at his side. The glass walkway was very wide, and the floor made of marble, obviously used for things that Zexion intended to load aboard airships. He tried not to look down as they crossed the empty space—he'd already learned that he didn't much like heights from riding in the airships.

"I'll introduce you to Kadaj and Yazoo," Zexion told them, breaking the silence. "Loz isn't often here. He works directly under Xemnas."

Sora frowned. "Loz?"

Zexion looked at him over his shoulder. "Loz is Yazoo and Kadaj's oldest brother. Riku probably didn't mention him; he's only really met him once."

Sora nodded and bowed his head. Roxas had been quiet, but then again, Roxas had always been quiet. It was making him worried though; Roxas was being a little too quiet. He stopped and looked up when Zexion did, in front of a large metal door that matched the one behind them. He lifted his arm and placed his hand on a small red screen in the middle, and the door unlocked, allowing them entrance. Zexion strode purposefully down the hallway, making Sora hurry to keep up.

The inside of the building wasn't anything special, contrary to his idea. It looked just like a regular office building—with large windows to the left and business departments to the right. Zexion led them to an elevator, pressed the top floor, and stood back as they rose upwards.

"I take it Riku's mentioned Kadaj and Yazoo?" Yazoo said, turning to Sora. The brunet nodded.

"Yeah. He told me a lot about them."

"Hn." Zexion looked away. "Don't take Kadaj too seriously."

Sora nodded. "I know… Riku said he was a little… uh… different."

The silver-haired businessman snorted. "You don't know the half of it."

The elevator arrived with a signaling 'ding!', and Zexion stepped out, striding down the hall once again. Sora had to trot to keep up, and cursed tall people and their long legs. Roxas was almost in the same predicament, since the two of them were pretty much the same size, but his expression gave nothing away.

This hallway was a little different from the rest. It didn't look worn and office-y like the previous floor, and the windows were floor-to-ceiling. Zexion led them to a room in the middle of the hall, and opened the door.

Immediately the silence was destroyed.

"Kadaj _shut up_ and move your fucking leg! I can't work with it on my shoulder!"

"I'd consider that a weakness brother," The voice tutted in displeasure. "What kind of business leader can't multitask?"

"Most business leaders don't have their brothers _feet_ in their _faces_ while their on the computer!"

There came the sound of flesh slapping against more flesh, and then a strangled cry came right behind it. "You don't slap the leg of a man!"

"And who said you were a _man_? I see no proof."

"I'll show you _proof_—"

"Kadaj, Yazoo." Zexion snapped in a voice full of impending doom. There came silence from the room, and then a silver head poked around the edge of the entrance walkway.

"Hey Zexion!" Kadaj grinned and waved. Sora sucked in a breath when he saw him. He was obviously related to Riku—his silver hair looked just like Riku's—if Riku's hair ever wanted to stay flat. Kadaj blinked at Sora and Roxas when he noticed them. "Who're they?"

"Sora and Roxas," Zexion grunted, entering the room and stepping aside so that the two boys could come in after him. Kadaj's eyes widened as they looked them up and down.

"I knew one of you guys looked familiar." He smirked slightly and stepped around the wall. He stood tall at his full height, probably as tall as Riku. He looked to be eighteen or nineteen, and his eyes had a piercing coolness to them. Another body appeared from beyond the wall, and Sora shifted his gaze.

A small smile stretched Yazoo's lips as he looked at them. "I remember you Sora." He said lightly. When he wasn't snarling at Kadaj, his voice was lighter and gentler than Kadaj's. He was about the same height as Kadaj, but his hair was longer, and he gave off less of a shockwave when Sora met his eyes.

Sora felt himself blush and looked down at the floor. Zexion grunted and cleared his throat. "Well, the one with the shorter hair is Kadaj, and the other Yazoo. I have to talk to a few people downstairs, so they'll show you your rooms. I'm sorry I had to leave so quickly, but I'll be back before dinner." He nodded to the two boys, then turned and closed the door. Sora gulped and stood next to Roxas awkwardly.

He heard Kadaj snicker—because only someone like Kadaj could make it sound evil and nice at the same time (or so Riku said)—and looked up. The silver-haired boy motioned for him to come into the living room, and Sora cautiously obeyed. Roxas followed him, keeping his eyes on Kadaj.

"We'll show you your rooms," Kadaj said as soon as Sora had cleared the hallway. He crossed his arms and gestured behind him with his head. Sora finally turned his attention to the house itself.

It was like a mansion. They stood in what looked like the entrance hall, and to the right was a doorway that showed a small resting room. In front of them was a twisting stairway that lead up to a balcony, with walls that Sora couldn't see. Beyond the stairs on the first floor was another huge hallway, with rooms branching off. At the very end was a huge window, and Sora could see the forest even from here.

"Wow…" He gulped, and looked at the stairs again. "Are our rooms upstairs?"

Kadaj grinned smugly and turned around. "All the bedrooms are upstairs." He stated walking up the stairway. Sora took the hint and followed him, Roxas and Yazoo behind him.

The second floor was another massive hallway, and also at the end was a window. Kadaj took them halfway down the hall and stopped at an oak door. It was polished, and the doorknob was shining brass. "This was Riku's room," He said, and then opened the door.

Sora kicked his heart for tightening as he stepped inside. His eyes took in the white walls and the pale carpet, as well as the windows and closet door. Near a window was where Riku put his bed, up against the wall. It was large, and the sheets and blanket were made, as if no one had touched it in a long time. Next to the bed sat a desk, covered in cups full of pens and pencils. Riku had a lamp overlooking the entire thing, and a few books stuffed into the alcoves. Small trinkets—like board game figurines and quill pens were mixed with the writing utensils. The floor was immaculate, and the dresser held nothing but what looked like a jewelry box and a large mirror.

On the right wall, next to the dresser, were two doors that must have opened into a closet. They were closed now, but Sora could imagine a huge closet full of confining cloths.

"Well, I don't think he'd mind if you used his room." Kadaj broke through the silence. Sora turned and regarded him quietly. Roxas and Yazoo were both watching him, and he smiled.

"I… I'd like it."

Kadaj smirked and nodded, tossing some hair out of his eyes. "The blond will be next door. He motioned for Roxas to follow him. Roxas gave Sora a meaningful look, and the brunet nodded, smiling gently. Roxas closed his eyes and sighed before turning to follow Kadaj. Yazoo gave him a lingering glance before following them.

Sora closed the door and set his bags on the floor. His and Riku's, actually. He looked around the room one more time, and then went over to the desk. He pulled out one of the books that Riku had stuffed into the cubbies and flipped it over to read the cover.

_Friends_.

It was a children's book. Sora frowned and turned to the first page. The picture showed a little white cat next to a brown one, probably kittens. There were no words, so Sora turned to the next page. There was a spread of the kittens playing together in a field of flowers, with the sun shining. On the next page, the white kitten was suddenly grabbed by the hands of a man who looked like a police officer. The next page showed the brown kitten sitting alone in the field, and it was raining.

Sora frowned and turned the page again. Now the white kitten was back, and they were both full grown. They played in the grass under the sun again. The next page showed the officer come back, only this time he was grabbing for the brown kitten. The white one attacked the officer.

The officer threw the white kitten down and kicked it. Sora frowned, wondering if this really was a children's book as he turned the page. Apparently not. The white kitten was bleeding, and the brown kitten had come over to it.

The last page showed the kittens lying together, next to the rock that the white kitten had fallen against.

Sora closed the book, disturbed. Why would Riku want to read such a sad story? He shook his head and put it back into the desk, deciding that he didn't want to know unless Riku could tell him. There was golden light in the room now, and Sora moved over to the window to look out at the sunset.

Riku loved sunsets. Sora closed his eyes and sighed softly, letting the light of the dipping sun wash over him.

Riku would come back. He _knew_ he would.

After standing there for a few moments, Sora moved over to the bed and sat down. With a grunt he flopped onto his stomach, wiggling around to get comfortable. His nose nuzzled against the pillow and he took a deep breath. _It smells like Riku…_

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the pillow from under his head and hugged it to his chest, curling around it. Riku's entire bed smelled like him. "Riku…"

Quietly, Yazoo closed the door to Sora's room and turned away. _I'll get him when dinner's ready._

* * *

Leon sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. They'd been talking for hours now, and he'd had such an overload of info that he had to start taking notes. Cloud of course retained information like a computer, so he had no need for a pencil and paper. They'd been discussing plans for the past six hours, and he was sure it was at least midnight, if not passed. 

"But there is still the problem of knowing from which direction to strike," Saix was saying, his hand gesturing with his words. "All we know of the area is a vague description from word of mouth. We have no idea weather it even has a river nearby."

Luxord nodded slowly. "We'll have to send someone to investigate. It would be easy if we only know the area."

"They suspect nothing," That was Saix again. "We have a good chance."

Cloud leaned over to Leon as the discussion continued and groaned. "I'm tired of these circles…"

Leon nodded. "It's a miracle that they've gotten anything done."

The group had been debating for hours upon hours, and they'd only just gotten through the basics. They planned to destroy the three major bases of the army, but they were discussing which to hit first. Now they were arguing over weather the one they chose _should_ be the one they chose.

"I'm tired." Cloud sighed, and rubbed his eyes. Leon rolled his, but leaned a little closer to Cloud. The blond smirked at him.

Suddenly the small door in the back of the room burst open, startling everyone in the meeting. Red XIII ran into the room, and it was the first time Leon had seen him so frantic.

"Lord Luxord sir," he said in a rush, sliding to a stop at the council's feet. He dipped his head, panting. "I have urgent news."

Luxord frowned. "News of what?"

The cat took a deep breath, and his tail lashed through the air like mad. "Our sources in the army are saying that more than half of the forces—the huge grouping we though were suspicious being gathered in the Southwest, that we thought was just a training base because of confident sources, is moving out."

He had everyone's attention now. Leon's brow furrowed. "Where are they going?"

"We don't know," The big cat's tail lashed again. "There is nothing but ocean in that direction."

"That's where Zexion's island is."

Everyone turned to Demyx, who looked surprised at his own voice. "Uh, I went there a few weeks ago. Right across from where they are in a few miles is Zexion's island."

Luxord frowned. "They couldn't be heading for Shinra corp. for anything important."

"Maybe information was leaked." Larxene said, baring her teeth.

"All I know is that they are moving out, and Lord Zexion is in danger," Red said.

"A change of plans then," Luxord murmured. He motioned to Larxene. "Contact Lord Xemnas and tell him that the revolution starts. We'll gather our forces on Zexion's island and lure army's forces into a confrontation on the shores."

Larxene stood and dipped her head at once. Then she turned and walked swiftly from the hall. Luxord smirked.

"I suppose out old plans are insufficient. Contact Cid, and tell him of this change. It will take at least two days for the army to reach Zexion's island from their position. We'll collect our troops there." He nodded to them all.

Leon dropped his pencil and leaned back with a heavy sigh, wondering why they couldn't make plans like this _all_ the time.

* * *

Someone was shaking him awake, and Riku almost lashed out and slapped Axel in the face as he woke suddenly. "What?" He snapped, staring blearily up into Axel's cheerful green eyes. 

"Look what I found!" He said happily, and pointed behind him. Riku frowned and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Standing there, staring at him, were five men with suntanned skin. All of them bore tattoos just like his. He stared for a moment, and wondered if these men had been experimented on too. Then he recalled a conversation with Leon he'd had long, long ago.

These were the bandits that called themselves Dreamers.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Wheeeeeeeeeeee. 


	22. Rest

**Author's Notes: **Thank you all for your reviews:giggles: I love them all!

A few people seemed to have forgotten about the Dreamers. That's okay! Leon just mentioned them in passing in chapter four or five I believe. He said that Riku should keep his 'tattoo's' hidden because the Dreamers—a group of bandits—wore them as a sort of rights ritual, and people were still afraid of them despite their supposed dieing out.

This chapter's a little short, but we're getting closer and closer to the end. :feels faint: Wow! I've never completed a fic before! I feel so… accomplished…

Also, I may miss an update in these next few chapters, mostly because of school. They're really piling on the work now, and when I get home all of my inspiration is sucked out. I haven't been able to draw or write anything I truly like in a while, mostly 'cause all my efforts are going to schoolwork. Ugh! I need a job so I can buy stuff to make me happy! (Not that reviews don't make me happy… :hinthint: )

Anyways, enjoy!

**P.S:**_ AngelStorm22_ has gotten the 100th review! Yay! Congratulations! Just like before, you have a choice between a one-shot and a picture!

* * *

**Chapter 22**

_Rest_

* * *

Riku stared into the eyes of the man that the Dreamers called their leader and frowned. He wasn't tattooed like all the others—so why was he the leader? 

_Probably because he's damn creepy…_

"You're the only survivors we could find," he said, in perfect English. At first Riku thought he might have a northern accent, mostly because all of the people around him wore nothing but pants, and sometimes bandannas. They seemed to _like_ showing off their tattoo's to the world, but none of them had the barcode in the side of their neck like Riku did. "We saw the ship explode, and started scouring the islands yesterday once the remains had stopped burning."

Riku sighed and ran his fingers though his hair with a wince. It was greasy, and it smelled, and he would give anything for some shampoo right now. "Thanks for helping us," he managed to say between shivers. "We were kind of starving."

Axel shifted behind Riku. The both of them were standing on the deck of a large sailing ship. It was wood, and had many sails and ropes hanging and connecting only the gods knew what. If Riku didn't know better, he would say that these guys were pirates.

The leader inclined his head, his dark hair shifting over his eyes. They seemed to glow through his hair, and Riku had to suppress another shiver. "Do you know of a place where you would be safe?"

Riku looked out at the ocean and thought. If anywhere, they'd be safe back on Zexion's island. If Sora was alive, then that was probably where he would be. Plus, Zexion's island was rather well known, since it was the base headquarters for Shinra Corp.

"Yes," He said, and turned back to the leader. "Do you know of the Shinra corporation island?"

The captain's eyes widened for a brief second, and then narrowed. "I know where it is."

"Zexion's my uncle," He said carefully, hoping this guy didn't have a grudge against him. "And we'll be safe there."

Immediately the man's eyes softened, and he even smiled. "You are Riku?"

Riku stared. "Yeah…" _Has living with Zexion made me some kind of celebrity?_ There was no other explanation for bandits like the Dreamers knowing him.

"Zexion has told us about you. I wonder, has he told you about the Organization?"

Riku frowned, but Axel shifted and stepped foreword, speaking up for the first time. "Aren't they just a group of rebels against the army?" He asked. The leader turned his red eyes on Axel, and Riku nearly laughed when he heard the red-head gulp.

"Are either of you loyal to the army?" He said carefully, and Riku noticed how his eyes seemed to shade over darkly. Axel snorted.

"I used to be. Fat lot of good they do me. I'd rather live on my own anyway."

The man stared at Axel for a long time, and Riku hazarded a quick glance at his companion. He looked bored, but his shoulders were tense, and he wasn't swaying lazily as he usually did when he stood still. Suddenly the man shrugged.

"If you betray us, you will have nowhere to go. Everyone on Zexion's island is loyal to the Organization." He leaned back against the mast, and looked at them both. When he explained what the organization was—a group of rebels who were getting ready to destroy the army, and were loyal to the king—Riku realized it had been obvious that Zexion was a rebel leader. He just hadn't recognized the signs when he was with him—mostly because he was still in the throes of learning, and hadn't been paying much attention.

"And what's more," the man continued, "The army is mobilizing, and heading to Zexion's island."

Riku stood straighter. "Why?"

The man shrugged. "No one knows why. Zexion has been informed, and we have the help of two former army deserters. We have a connection to headquarters through radio, and that's how we were able to send the messages as quickly as we could."

"Former deserters?" Riku frowned. "What can they help you with?"

"One has an ability to read into technical equipment, and the other has valuable sources of information that we can use once the army is destroyed. Most of their troops are headed for Zexion's island, and others are stationed in their bases. It will take about a day for them to reach the island. We're very close to the island now, and have been given orders to wait on shore. Other rebels are being gathered by airship, and almost all of the workers in the offices are ready to fight."

Riku frowned. "If you're using airships, how come the army isn't?"

It was Axel who answered that question, to Riku's surprise. "The only person in the army who owns an airship is their top general. He just sits around all day and does nothing, from what I've heard." Axel snorted. "He uses his money to buy things for himself, instead of things for the army, and airships are damn expensive. They have boats and motor vehicles, but airships take too much money to maintain. Money he wants to keep to himself."

Riku frowned. He could see now why the army was such a nasty thing. With a shake of his head, Riku turned back to the leader of the Dreamers. "Will you take us to Zexion's island?"

The man smirked and nodded. "We'll be there in about two hours. This was the last island we had to search."

Riku felt relief rush through him, and just caught himself as his knees threatened to buckle. He hadn't even noticed how tired he'd been. He felt content now, and knew he was finally going home. Or, the only home he'd ever really known. He nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up at Axel. The red-head had relief in his eyes too, but his expression gave nothing away.

"If Sora and Roxas are anywhere, they have to be at Zexion's place." He said. Riku could see the confirmation he needed, and realized just how much Axel missed Roxas. He wasn't one to show emotion like this, usually.

And Riku nodded, because he needed the confirmation too. Maybe seeing and touching Sora would fill the hole in his chest that had ripped open when his memories returned…?

"If they're anywhere… they're at Zexion's island."

* * *

"I had to teach him how to take a bath," Kadaj was saying as they ate dinner later in the day. Zexion had returned, and Yazoo had made some form of noodle that was quite good, in Sora's opinion. "He was _terrified_ of it." 

"When Kadaj turned on the faucet, he ran out of the bathroom and refused to come out of his room." Yazoo continued with a smirk.

"That was before he learned to communicate again." Kadaj said around a mouthful of noodles. "He was like a six year old kid," he snickered.

Sora found himself smiling as he ate. It felt like he was surrounded by a family telling him about the olden days, and that was almost essentially what it was. Kadaj had taken the chance to discuss embarrassing stories about Riku's re-growth in his cousin's absence, and Sora felt better than he had in a long time. It was as if Kadaj knew Riku was alive, and had just gone out to go shopping.

"It took him three weeks to get used to it," Kadaj continued, "And it was only because Zexion was getting annoyed with the water on the floor when Riku used the sink to wash up."

Sora laughed lightly, stuffing a fork-full of noodles in his mouth as Yazoo snickered and Kadaj looked proud of himself. He liked Riku's family. They were so much like a real family—not the kind that Sora had when he was young.

Suddenly the table shook. Roxas pushed his chair away from it and abruptly stood. "I'm not hungry," He said tightly, and turned around. Sora dropped his fork and scrambled up to follow him. Roxas was never this rude to others. Something must be really wrong.

He excused himself from the surprised faces and apologized for Roxas, then hurried after to blond. He climbed the stairs and walked into the hallway just as Roxas closed the door to his bedroom. Sora jogged over to it and tried the handle, breathing a sigh of relief to find it unlocked.

He pushed the door open and closed it behind him, turning the lock. He may have liked Kadaj and Yazoo, but he didn't put it passed them to barge into the room and ask loud questions.

The room was dark, since it was almost nine at night, and Roxas had flopped onto the bed with his head down. Sora bit his lip and approached him cautiously. When Roxas didn't move at all, he knelt down and sat down on the bed beside his friend.

"Tell me what's wrong," He said quietly, tentatively reaching out and touching Roxas' shoulder. "I know that something's been bothering you."

Roxas shifted slightly. "Why didn't you ask sooner?" He said, voice muffled in the pillows. Sora bit his lip and pulled himself up onto the bed completely.

"I figured you'd come to me if it was truly bothering you," he said. "I'm sorry… Just… being here, and learning about Riku… it's all sort of distracted me."

"And what about Axel?" Roxas' voice was thin—with anger or pain, Sora couldn't tell. "All I've heard is Riku's alive, but no one's mentioned Axel."

Sora let his hand rub Roxas' arm as regret filled him. "I'm sorry Roxas… But If Riku's alive, then Axel has to be too. Both of them are equally stupid, right?" He tried to smile, but Roxas' face was still buried in the pillow, and he couldn't see. "Besides… do _you_ feel that Axel's gone?"

Roxas finally stirred. He lifted himself up and looked at Sora through his blond bangs, frowning slightly. "I… no. I know he's alive. I just… I just wanted to hear someone say it."

Sora smiled and slid closer to Roxas, wrapping his arms around him and holding him tightly as the blond returned the embrace fiercely. "Then Axel's alive. We _both_ know it."

Roxas nodded against Sora's shoulder and pulled away, looking uncomfortable. Sora grinned at him. "I'll bet you the both of them are alive and well, and yelling at each other right now as we speak."

The blond gave Sora a tentative smile, and then lay down on his back. Sora stood up and stretched. "I'll tell them that you're not feeling well."

As Sora moved to close the door he paused, and smiled when he heard what Roxas whispered.

"Thank you."

* * *

Cloud snuggled against Leon and yawned so widely that Leon wondered why his jaw didn't break. The two of them had finally gotten a chance to lay down and rest, and already Leon felt his eyes drooping. But Cloud had gained a strange burst of energy before they lay down, and he was wiggling. 

"What is it?" Leon asked grumpily. Cloud had insisted that he felt safer sleeping with Leon, and the others hadn't complained. Leon least of all—Cloud made him more comfortable, and he'd had the best rests when he held the blond in his arms. But if he was going to wiggle all night, he had no qualms with making him sleep on the floor.

"I'm nervous," Cloud admitted after a moment of silence. "Tomorrow we'll be going to the island…"

Leon sighed and turned around to face Cloud in the darkness. His blue eyes glowed even in the half-light, and Leon could see the anxiousness on his face. Cloud didn't let his barriers down in front of anyone else, and that made a surge of pride rear its head inside of Leon.

"Are you sure you can do what they asked you to do?" He asked, his voice softened with sleep and fondness. Cloud mumbled something, but he nodded, and Leon could see the determination replace the anxiousness.

"Yes. If I can't do this… then I have no right to be here right now. Plus, I'll be stuffing those bastards' faces in their own experiments. Nothing like a good old 'fuck you' from someone you thought you'd never see again to brighten your day."

Leon couldn't help but crack a smile at that. His fondness increased, and he leaned foreword to capture Cloud's lips in a gentle kiss. The blond met him halfway. Their lips moved against each other slowly, and soon it changed from chaste to heated as Cloud bit Leon's bottom lip and forced his tongue into the other's mouth.

Leon moaned and slid his arms around Cloud, joining him in his little dance. He only broke away when he needed to breath, and pulled back panting. He felt Cloud's thumb trace his bottom lip and opened his eyes to gaze into a pair of blue orbs full of warmth and contentment.

"I want to be with you," Cloud whispered, his voice faint with his breath, "for a really long time."

Leon rolled his eyes and kissed the edge of Cloud's mouth as he pulled the blanket higher. "How about forever?"

"Mm… I can live with that."

* * *

"But _I_ want top bunk!" Axel's voice had gained a whiney edge, and it grated on Riku's ears. 

"Well you're not _getting_ it!" He snapped, and rolled over with a final grunt. The Dreamers had given them a room to share, and they had a single bunk bed. Riku had called the top bunk and Axel had gotten there too late, and had started whining.

"I can burn it you know."

"The ship is made of _wood_ Axel." Riku grunted. "The whole thing will burn, and then we'll never see Sora and Roxas again."

That certainly shut him up. Riku snuggled down and smiled, prepared to fall into the deepest sleep he'd had in the past two days. But it was not meant to be.

There was a loud knock on the door, and a tattooed man opened it, peering inside. "We've arrived."

Riku sat up so quickly that he nearly toppled out of bed. Axel flipped around and stared, then both of them exchanged anxious glances.

Finally, _finally_, they had reached Zexion's island.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I bet no one's even looking at these anymore. Bwahaha, I don't own KH. 


	23. Home Again

**Author's Notes:** Updating a day early! Woo!

Oh boy, schools been totally outrageous! This week I had a (verbal) fight with a girl who was insulting my best friend's artwork, and I've never talked to people like I did to her. Never. O-o See what schoolwork does to me?

I'm really sorry for missing out last weekend. I don't even think this chapter is good compensation, because I don't like how it came out much. It feels detached…

That might be my fault though. I have F-cat writes next week and in March I have F-cat Reading and Math, and I have to pass all three! If I don't pass, I won't be able to graduate high school, even if I pass all my classes.

I hate Florida! This education system sucks!

Anyway, I look back on this story and I see how rough it is. When I started it, I had no idea how I was gonna end it! I just had a couple of scenes, and that was how it grew. I'm so surprised that people have actually liked it as much as they have. 100 reviews! I still can't _believe_ that! I never thought people would like this story this much. I thank all of you! I am so totally in your debt! Your reviews have cheered me up countless times, and I don't know if there are even words in the English language enough to thank you.

I hope the story is enough though. It's not the best thing out there, but I'm so glad so many people enjoy the drivel I write.

Thank you all:tears up and sniffles:

* * *

**Chapter 23**

_Home Again_

* * *

By the time Riku stepped outside, he knew that it was far passed midnight, and the time any normal, sane person would be asleep. Though he hadn't slept well in three days (being unconscious didn't count), and he could hardly walk straight, he didn't care. He now stood on the shores of the island that he'd lived on as he recovered from experimentation.

As he looked up at the huge tower half a mile away, through the forest, Riku didn't care that he'd be dragging himself through mud and dirt and who knew what else, because in that tower, there were people he knew and cared about.

And he _knew_ that Sora had to be there.

The ship captain came to stand beside him, looking up at the tower as well. He was wearing a dark red cloak, and he'd slipped on some kind of claw armor over his arm. At his side was a rather large gun set in its holster. His eyes glowed in the darkness.

"I'll have two of my men escort you to the tower with our messenger. The rest of us will wait here." The captain told him coolly as he slipped a handful of what looked like shotgun bullets into one of the many pouches attached to his belt. Riku nodded and turned to look at him.

"Thank you, uh—"

"Vincent." The red eyes went from the sky to Riku. Oddly, Riku didn't find it as creepy as before.

"Vincent. My gratitude to you far exceeds anything I could give you."

"We didn't go out of our way to help you. It was our pleasure."

Riku nodded and looked at Axel. Military training must have helped him with the no-sleep thing, because he looked as alert as a hunting wolf. Riku rather envied him. "You ready?"

Axel got a rather dreamy look on his face. "Yes."

Riku nodded and motioned to the three people who were coming with them. "Lead the way."

* * *

Sora rolled around and grunted, curling himself up into a little ball. No matter what he tried, he just couldn't get to sleep. He smelled Riku all around him, and that made him think about him, which in turn made him worry, and then it made it hard for him to clear his mind for sleep.

He squeezed his eyes closed for about three minutes before sighing and opening them. It wasn't working. He just couldn't sleep.

With a soft sigh, he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It was a full moon tonight, so the room was brighter than it would usually be. He sat there on the bed for a little while, looking out the window and slowly rubbing his arms. That had been a habit he'd grown into after getting into the military school. It made him feel more secure.

He wondered vaguely if Riku had developed those kinds of habits. He hadn't been around him long enough to notice, and he couldn't remember if he'd had them before. Even though he'd gotten to know Riku, and had figured that they'd been together before, his memories hadn't cleared that much.

Sora moved to the side of the bed and tossed the blanket off of his legs. He stood and stretched his arms over his head with a soft grunt, then turned to stand in front of the window at the foot of the bed. There was one over it, and one about a floor away from that one. Sora looked out at the sky and the moon, and smiled sadly. He could see the stars almost as well out here as he could in the mountains with Riku.

_Stop thinking about him!_ Sora snapped at himself, scowling. It was only making him sad. Plus, Axel was missing too. Axel had been one of his best friends, and he knew Roxas would be devastated if Axel never came back.

_Axel and Riku are alive._ He kept telling himself, hoping against all hope that it was true. He had to believe that. He _had_ to.

But that didn't mean he wasn't worried sick. He'd never expected he'd miss Riku this much. It felt as if he'd been returned something an old friend had stolen, only to have it taken away a day later.

And, he hated to admit it, but he was lonely without Riku. He missed his embrace, and his kisses. Sora hadn't been in any relationships before Riku, and now that he had… he really missed the security of having someone care about him so much.

_I… think I might love him._

Sora bit his lip. He'd never say anything he didn't mean. He had to know for sure, that it wasn't just a passing fancy. Riku _was_ really good looking, and Sora didn't want to like him just because of that. He wanted to like Riku for _Riku_.

_And I want him to like me for me…_

Something caught Sora's attention and brought him blinking out of his thoughts. He'd touched the glass of the window as he'd been thinking, and now something weird was happening.

His fingers were warm, and they were glowing with a faint blue light. Sora's eyes widened and he removed his hand hastily, only to turn it over and stare at his finger-tips. There was nothing there now, but he could have _sworn_ just two second ago they were glowing.

Sora's brow furrowed. He shook his head after a moment of thought. It must have been his imagination. He _was_ really tired, after all.

* * *

Riku brushed his sweaty hair out of his face and cursed. It had taken them an hour to traverse through the forest—no, it was a _swamp_—but they'd made it. He, Axel, the two guards, and the messenger were now standing outside of the entrance doors on Zexion's tower—the ground floor.

Something had been pinching the back of his mind ever since he'd stepped into this clearing. It had started and grew stronger the closer he got to the tower, and it felt as if it was trying to pull him somewhere.

The guards motioned for he and Axel to wait as they stepped up to the tower doorway, and Riku turned to address Axel. "Do you feel like something's pulling you?"

Axel blinked at him and frowned. His gaze turned inward for a second, but he shook his head. "No. Why?"

Riku looked back at the tower and massaged his temple with a dirty hand. "It feels as if my brain's trying to tell me something… like, pointing."

"Maybe it's pointing to Sora?" Axel suggested with a smirk. Riku considered that, but shook his head.

"It feels… I don't know. It just doesn't _feel_ like Sora. It feels… bad. It's hard to explain."

Axel eyed Riku for a second. "You think it has to do with that weird thing you did with your hand?"

Riku shrugged, feeling helpless and hating it. "I don't know. But it's pulling me towards the tower."

The guards came back then, and nodded at Riku. "We will wait outside. The captain says you know where to go. Our messenger has gone on ahead."

Riku nodded and thanked them again before slipping through the open door. He felt the security system give him a once over, and let him through once it recognized him. He made sure to touch Axel as he stepped inside, so that the system could see that he wasn't hostile.

Inside, the pulling got worse. It was starting to give Riku a headache, and he tried to shake it off, but it wasn't going anywhere. It seemed to be pulling him down the left hallway, when Riku had to go in the opposite direction to get to the elevator.

"Axel," he said, and stopped walking. The red-head turned to give him a cool stare. "If you go all the way down this hall, you'll reach an elevator. Go up to the topmost floor, and when you get to the door, knock. When someone answers, tell them your name and say that I sent you."

Axel narrowed his eyes and turned to face him fully. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll meet you soon. Like I said, it feels like something's pulling me, and I have to go see what it is. Whatever it is, it isn't good."

Axel stared at him, and Riku stared right back. The silver-haired teen could see Axel debating in his mind, and waited patiently. He would rather Axel go up and reassure everyone while Riku went to clear this—whatever it was—from his head.

Finally, Axel released an explosive sigh and ran a hand through his own greasy hair. Even though it hadn't been washed, and it was full of dry salt, it was still spiky. "Alright. You better be up there."

Riku nodded. "If I take more than twenty minutes, come down after me." At Axel's nod, Riku turned on his heel and walked towards the pulling sensation.

* * *

Axel scowled and leaned back against the wall in the elevator. Riku had changed, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. His immaturity seemed to have been torn out of him, and whenever Axel looked into his eyes, he felt like he was staring into a pit of darkness.

He sighed, flicking some dried mud off his chest. He hoped Sora would be able to help. Riku really needed him right now.

The elevator stopped at the top floor, and Axel pushed off the wall. The doors opened into a blank hallway. He walked out of the elevator and towards the single door in the entire corridor. He'd been trained to push his weariness into the back of his mind until a mission was completed, but that didn't mean he wasn't tired. His arms ached, and his legs were sore. But Axel wasn't going to complain. No, he could complain later, when someone who cared was around to listen.

As Riku had said, Axel knocked on the door and stood back. It took a few minutes, but a voice sounded from above, on the roof, causing Axel to look up. There was a little speaker in the wall there.

"Who's there?" Grunted the voice. It sounded half asleep, and male.

"Axel," He said, "Riku sent me up ahead of him. Mind letting me in? I'd really like a shower right about now."

"_Axel_?" The voice sounded awake now. He'd actually heard that through the door. "Riku's here? Where is he?"

"Said he had to check on something, but he'd be up soon."

"Okay, be right there." And the voice turned off. Axel pursed his lips and waited. _Shower… shower… I want a shower…_

There came the sound of locks being removed, and then the door was pulled inward. A man stood there, surprising Axel with how much he looked like Riku. He had really long hair though, and his eyes held an anxious glint. He stepped aside to let Axel in, and the red-head walked passed him without a word. He looked around the area as the man quickly closed the door.

"You look horrible," was the first thing mister silver said.

"Uh, well, I haven't had a decent shower in three days… Actually, a lot longer, if you count the time I was in the mountains. Haven't eaten either, never did sleep well, walked through a half-mile of swamp, got blown off a ship…" He looked at silver-boy. "Yeah, you wouldn't look too good either."

"Axel?"

And then his world froze. Axel had tried his best not to think about him. It was easier to put his emotions aside, but when he heard the voice, he wasn't sure what was harder. Not turning around, or trying not to cry.

But Axel wasn't one for waterworks. He closed his eyes and turned around slowly, then looked up. Standing there on the stairs, dressed in clothes far too big for him, stood the little blond boy he'd been falling in love with.

Axel let himself smile. It was tired, and full of relief, but it was still the first real smile he'd given to anyone since he'd woken up on that island. Even though it had only been three days—three days full of worry, really, he couldn't have cared less. It felt like an eternity to him.

"Hey Roxy."

And Roxas's eyes glittered, and he jumped over the stair railing, and Axel nearly tripped over the coffee table as Roxas leapt up and wrapped his arms around his neck. Axel held him back, dropping to his knees so that Roxas's feet could actually touch the floor. Roxas was shaking, and he was squeezing the life out of Axel, but the red-head didn't care, because he was doing the same thing.

"You don't know how much I've missed that." Roxas whispered. Axel smiled and buried his face into Roxas's shoulder.

"I have an idea."

Roxas made a noise half-between a sob and a growl of rage, but it didn't matter. They were both alive.

* * *

The—whatever it was—had led Riku to a part of the first floor that was reserved for break. He walked slowly towards the door, wincing as his head throbbed painfully. Whatever it was, it was inside here.

He froze as a voice drifted into the corridor. It was a male voice, and the person was whispering something. It was too quiet for Riku to hear, so he moved as close to the doorway as he could.

The person suddenly started speaking louder, and Riku froze as he heard what he was saying.

"Yes. He's been here since yesterday. Zexion brought him in… No, I don't think they're aware of it. Yes. I've been discreet. So, you'll send a cargo ship tomorrow, before the troops get here? Good. I'm not a fighter."

Riku's brain worked to calculate. Zexion had brought a person here, and whoever it was _must_ be the reason why the army was coming. This guy definitely sounded like a spy, and Riku knew that Zexion would send anyone unwilling to fight back home.

Then Riku's eyes narrowed. _What if Zexion's brought Sora here?_

Could the army be after Sora?

Anger welled inside of him as he thought of that. He turned away from the door and clenched his fists. If that person was reporting Sora, he wouldn't live for five seconds after Riku found him out. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He didn't want to be angry when he went up to see Zexion.

He noticed that the tugging sensation was stopping, and shook his head. He rubbed his temples, willing the ache away, and turned towards the nearest elevators. All he could do was tell Zexion about this.

He didn't notice that the man inside the room had suddenly dropped the phone he'd been speaking into, and fell to the floor, dead.

* * *

Leon put his arm around Cloud's shoulders as he started to fidget.

"Relax." He grunted, but Cloud only scowled, and if anything his fidgeting grew worse. "Cloud, it's not the end of the world. Settle down."

"How can I relax?" Cloud snapped, glaring at Leon. "You're going to be out fighting tomorrow—while I'll be safe inside a building, digging inside of a computer."

Leon lifted an eyebrow and watched Cloud until he turned away, blushing. "I can take care of myself." He said, and squeezed Cloud shoulders. He'd jumped as the engine in the airship started. They'd woken up early this morning, and now they were headed to Zexion's island, as the first defense against the advancing army.

"That doesn't mean I don't worry about, oh gee, I don't know, you _dying in battle_!"

Leon sighed and pulled Cloud closer, raising his free hand to grip his chin and turn his gaze towards himself. Cloud fidgeted, but didn't avert his eyes.

"I'm a trained soldier. I was trained back when the army actually trained its soldiers _well_. I can't guarantee I'll come back—no one can—but I'll try. If not for myself, then for you, okay? I won't die for no reason."

Cloud's eyes glittered, and he pulled free of Leon's grasp, sniffing and rubbing his eyes.

"I promise Cloud," Leon whispered, gripping Cloud's chin again and pressing a harsh kiss to his lips. Cloud responded with a grunt, wrapping his arms tightly around Leon. When they broke away, Leon leaned his head against Cloud's shoulder and gently kissed his neck.

"If I have any ability to do so, I _will_ make sure the both of us live. I promise."

"Okay." Cloud said, squeezing Leon. "Promise me you won't run away again."

"I promise," Leon said, and closed his eyes.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Murf. 


	24. Breaking Point

**Author's Notes: **Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry for the wait! Between my test (which is tomorrow), getting sick, and an anime convention, I've had NO time to write anything! I barely even got the story I was entering into a state contest finished in time. Crazy!

I love you all, you're so wonderful. This story should wrap up in a few chapters. This one is full of goodness, and the next one will be rather good too! Hee. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 24**

_Breaking Point_

* * *

"So, the Army is heading this way?"

Axel nodded, not taking his eyes off of Roxas's form, sitting beside him on the large plush couch in Zexion's apartment. The blonde eyed him, becoming unnerved by the intensity of his stare.

"What are we going to do?"

Kadaj snorted—Yazoo had gone upstairs earlier and dragged both his brother and Sora out of bed and into the den. "_We're_ going to fight."

Roxas frowned at him. "But you aren't trained—"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Said Yazoo, eyeing his brother. "He's rather lethal when he wants to be."

Axel laughed. "Certainly doesn't look it."

Kadaj was scowling at all of them. "Just you wait and see—you'll be eating your words when I get out there and start severing heads."

Axel returned his gaze to Roxas. "I think I'm going to stay too. After a shower, some food, and a good nights rest, I'll be ready. I want to show those bastards just how annoying fire can be." He gave a rather nasty smirk. Roxas gave him a confused look.

"The Army hasn't done anything… really _horrible_ to you have they?" He asked, "Why would you hate them so much?"

Axel laughed lightly. "I never did like them. The only reason I joined was because of the money and the side jobs I got at school. I don't really care about that now. Why did _you_ leave?"

Roxas looked away. He'd told Axel how he and Sora had ended up here after the ships explosion, and in return Axel told him his and Riku's story. Kadaj and Yazoo were both sitting in the two other chairs across from them, looking a bit bored, but their eyes were alight with interest.

"I'd known Sora for a long time. I knew about Riku and… I think the Army did something to me—to everyone—that messed me up. I guess at the exam before we entered the school. I couldn't remember Riku." He looked at Axel from the corner of his eye. "I know there are some things you've forgotten too."

Axel nodded. "I sort of figured, after Riku and everything."

"Besides… following one of my best friends just felt wrong. I didn't like it."

"So you chose Sora over the Army."

Roxas gave him a reproachful gaze. "Of course."

Axel smiled. "That's my Roxy."

Roxas rolled his eyes and leaned back into the couch, turning to watch Sora as he stood against the staircase, staring at the door and chewing his fingernails. He frowned. "Sora that's unhealthy."

The brunet looked up, startled, and quickly dropped his hand. "Sorry."

Axel grinned. "Don't worry kid, Riku'll be here any—" He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell and smirked, "second."

Yazoo stood and walked quickly to the door, peering into the video screen that showed him the person outside. He quickly stepped back and unlocked the door, pulling it open and revealing a tall, dirty, silver haired teenager.

"Well, been a while cousin." Yazoo said.

Immediately Kadaj leapt from his seat and jogged gleefully to the doorway. "I _knew_ you wouldn't die so easily! Ha! What'd I tell them all!"

"Shut up Kadaj." Came a very familiar, deep voice. Kadaj and Yazoo stepped aside and allowed Riku to enter, Yazoo turning to close the door while Kadaj tailed Riku.

The silver-haired teen ignored Kadaj as he stepped into the den and gave Axel and Roxas a tired smile. "Well, glad you found it okay."

Axel gave him a big stupid grin, and Roxas rolled his eyes at him. "Your sense of direction is impervious."

But Riku wasn't paying much attention to them anymore. He'd looked up and started gazing around the room, eyes anxious.

"Where's—"

Then Riku met Sora's eyes, and for a moment Roxas was sure he stopped breathing.

* * *

Cloud scowled up at the sky as he stepped out of Cid's airship. It was dark, and rather cold, and he'd just realized that they were in fact _not_ landing on the building.

"Why do we have to go through the forest?" Cloud whined as he followed Leon and Cid into the gloomy creepers. "I thought we'd be able to, y'know, rest."

Cid shook his head. "The building is totally locked from the outside above level one at night. It's gotta recognize me before I can take you in. Works rather well actually. If you're an enemy, it shoots knockout gas at you, but at night it's turned to poison gas. Not a very clean way to die."

Cloud shuddered. "I thought I'd left stuff like that behind when I ran away from the Army."

Cid laughed. "Yeah well, as soon as they're all dead you'll get your safety back."

The spiky haired blond just rolled his eyes and continued to mumble under his breath. The ground they were walking on was becoming softer, and he was having trouble walking through the thick, sucking earth.

Leon paused suddenly, causing Cloud—who'd been staring down at his feet—to run right into him. With a grunt, the blond opened his mouth and looked up at him to grumble about stopping in unnecessary places. Before he could utter a word though, Leon had slapped a hand over his mouth, and continued gazing out into the woods.

Cloud pulled away from Leon's hand and looked around as well, his brows furrowed. Cid had also stopped and came slowly closer to them.

"Ye hear that?" Cid whispered, his blue eyes darting to and fro. Leon gave a barely perceptible nod and took a few steps off the path. "Sounded like a—"

"Wolf!" Cloud yelped, pointing behind them.

Leon and Cid turned sharply and glared. In the path behind them stood something very large, very hairy, and vaguely resembling a wolf. The only problem was that it seemed to have had it's snout crushed in, and it's eyes were wide and yellow, staring at them all erratically. It swayed unsteadily, barely making a noise as what looked like a hunk of it's flesh suddenly slid off its shoulder and fell to the ground with a sickening plop.

Cloud covered his mouth in disgusted and took a few steps back. "What the hell is that?"

Cid cursed. "I'd heard about the army attempting to teleport animals—never thought they could do it though."

Leon shook his head, seemingly unaffected by the decomposing creature. "Looks like one of those war creatures they were trying to breed before I left."

"Yeah, the Organization found out that they've been able to teleport them, but most of them fail. The ones that survive… well." He snorted. "Guess that's what happens to 'em."

"They're… war creatures?" Cloud said, looking at the wolf and watching in morbid horror as it's ear seemed to slowly fall off. "Are they… dangerous?"

"Yeah," Said Cid, just as the wolf gave a nasty bark and leapt forward. The airship pilot pulled out a small pistol and took three shots at it, but the bullets seemed to just be swallowed by the dribbling flesh of the monster. Leon had to grab him and dive to keep him from getting his head bitten off.

Cloud dodged to the left and nearly slipped in a puddle of deep mud. He cursed and turned quickly to watch Leon pull out his Gunblade and make a swipe at the wolf. The giant thing took a few steps back, it's paws prancing in annoyance as blood dripped from it. Cloud swallowed thickly, wishing his had one of his old buster swords to work with.

Leon started jogging backwards as the wolf came towards him, barking it's sickly sounds and dropping clumps of flesh and fur as it followed him. It was taller than him at the shoulder, and had to squeeze through most of the trees.

Cloud could only stand and watch, feeling useless, as Leon and Cid fought the beast. It only took a few moments—Cid grabbed his spear off his back, took a running start, and managed to impale the creature into a rather thick tree. Cloud winced as it released a high-pitched scream of pain and started struggling. He had to look away when Lean stepped forward and slit its throat with his Gunblade, giving it a quick death. The creature stopped shrieking and fell, limp, against Cid's spear.

"Hope no others survived," Cid grunted as he pulled his spear free.

"Poor thing…" Cloud whispered, looking at it sadly as Leon walked up to him.

"The Army cares even less about animals." Leon said, looking thoroughly annoyed. Cloud sighed, fidgeting.

"I wish I had my buster sword."

Leon smirked. "Would've helped."

Cloud gave him an annoyed look. "I'm useless without it."

"No ye ain't," Cid said, smirking as he shouldered the bloody spear. "Yer gonna be the one blowin' up the Army's gadgets aren't you?"

Cloud scowled. "Can't do much else."

"When this is over we'll get you a sword."

Cloud looked up at Leon with wide eyes. "R-really? You… would?"

Leon rolled his eyes as Cid scanned the path, making sure it was safe to go on. "I never say anything I don't mean."

Cloud smiled. "Thanks Leon."

* * *

Sora could hardly contain himself. Riku's eyes widened, and it was all the brunet could do not to leap off the stairs and wrap his arms around him.

"Sora… you made it."

"Riku—" Sora bit his lip, trying to keep from crying. He gave a weak smile as his eyes glittered. "You're… you're."

The silver haired teen seemed to get over the initial shock, and within second he had Sora in his arms, his face pressed into the brunets shoulder as he squeezed his eyes shut in pure relief. Sora threw his arms around Riku's neck and buried his face against the taller boys chest, holding him so tightly that it seemed as if he'd never let go.

"I-I thought… I was so sure that… but you're not! You're… you're here… a-alive…"

Riku smiled against Sora's shoulder and took a deep breath, drowning in his smell. "As long as you're here for me, I won't ever leave."

"Riku!" Sora cried, half in happiness and teary glee, and laughed. "I've missed you _so much_."

Riku swallowed the lump in his throat. "Me too… me too Sora…"

"Ahem… this is all very nice, but since not _all_ of us here enjoy two boys crying all over each other, would you mind releasing one another?"

Riku scowled and looked up at Kadaj, giving him a sneer. "Great way to ruin the mood."

Kadaj just gave him a huge grin. "That's what I'm here for."

Rolling his eyes, Riku released Sora and smiled down at him. The brunet sniffed and grinned as Riku cupped his cheek.

"We all knew you couldn't be dead. Kadaj kept telling us ways he'd tested your endurance and said you're like a cockroach."

Riku lifted his eyebrows and shot his cousin a look. "He did, did he?"

Kadaj just gave him a huge, innocent grin. Yazoo had resumed sitting in his chair, slowly shaking his head.

"I'm so glad you're okay…" Sora said, bringing Riku's attention back around. He was giving the silver-haired teen one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen—the smile that he remembered from years ago. Riku couldn't resist. With a soft smile in return, he bent down and captured Sora's lips in a gentle, warm caress.

He nudged Sora gently with his mouth and the brunet responded, pressing back eagerly while he wrapped his arms around Riku's shoulders and leaned up against him. Riku dropped his hands down and wrapped them around Sora's waist, gently coaxing Sora's mouth open with his tongue.

Roxas and Axel exchanged looks—Roxas a bit embarrassed and Axel thoughtful, while Yazoo just covered his eyes and Kadaj mimed retching all over the coffee table.

When Riku slid his hands up Sora's shirt and the brunet startled mewling, Kadaj could no longer stay quiet.

"Y'know, it's not polite to have sex on our staircase."

Seemingly remembering where he was, Sora broke away from Riku quickly and blushed so hard even his neck turned red. Riku just gave him a gentle look and hugged him again.

After that, Axel and Riku went upstairs to take a shower while Sora made them both sandwiches, along with fruit and other little snack items that were easily within reach. When they returned, both of them swallowed the food eagerly, clearly much happier when they'd had showers. After that, since Kadaj and Yazoo had gone to bed once they'd spoken to Riku, Sora took Riku upstairs, leaving Roxas alone with Axel, since he'd suspected they wanted to be alone for a while. He showed Riku which room he'd been given, and the silver-haired teen just smirked and rolled his eyes. "Kadaj is so predictable." Sora had made to leave after a little while so that Riku could sleep, but the other boy grabbed his arm and stopped him with a soft smile. "Sleep with me…"

When Sora turned deep red, Riku quickly rephrased the request. "Just—y'know, like on the ship…"

Sora hesitated, but eventually agreed, and once Riku had settled into his bed, he moved closer to the wall and let Sora lay down beside him. The brunet curled up against him, breathing in the soft scent of soap and shampoo as he snuggled into his soft bed clothes. Riku slowly ran his fingers through Sora's hair, and the brunet couldn't help but relax more, though he refused to fall asleep until Riku did.

A little while later Sora heard the door to the next room close, and knew that Axel and Roxas were getting ready for bed. He sighed softly and continued to sit there, completely content with Riku's hand petting him.

When Riku suddenly stopped Sora looked up at him, concerned. The silver-haired teen wasn't looking at him—rather at the wall. Sora knew what that meant, though he hadn't ever seen it before. Just like his comfort being with Riku, it came from the feelings the Army had been unable to suppress with the memories. He lifted himself up on one elbow and looked at Riku.

"Talk to me."

Riku seemed startled for a second, and then he smiled gently. With a soft sigh he pulled Sora down and put an arm over his stomach.

He told Sora everything—not cutting out bits and pieces like he had with Axel back on the island. He explained his old home, their old relationship, his parents—everything, with extra details and his own thoughts. Sora sat and listened, sometimes leaning forward to give him a comforting touch, or touching their foreheads together. When Riku finished speaking, Sora nodded.

"Oh Riku… you've…" He stopped, rethinking what he was going to say. So much pain… he didn't want Riku to think he was pitying him, so he decided to leave that for later. "I… sort of guessed we had something for each other. I mean… I can't like you this much without something behind it… right?" He gave Riku a small smile. The silver-haired teen gave a feeble smile back, and leaned forward to catch Sora's mouth again.

This time it was rough, needy. Sora opened his mouth willingly as Riku drilled his tongue inside, letting out a soft moan as the older boy slid his hands along his stomach over the nightshirt. Riku rolled on top of Sora when he broke away for a breath, settling his abdomen between the brunet's legs before bending down and kissing him again. Sora buried his fingers in Riku's hair, arching his back when the older boy's fingers found the hem of his shirt and touched flesh to flesh. Only when his breath became heavy and Riku had moved from kissing his neck to his collar bone did Sora tell him to stop. The older boy stopped immediately, swallowing as his green eyes slowly cleared.

Sora smiled up at him. His silver hair was disheveled and his cheeks were flushed. There were no words that Sora could use to describe how Riku made him feel in that moment.

"I suppose we better sleep… Tomorrow's the last day, right?" Riku whispered gently. Sora nodded, his smile slowly melting away. Riku bent down and caught Sora's mouth with one last gentle kiss before slipping off of him and snuggling against him. "Can't waste it."

Sora smiled and rolled over, wrapping his arms around Riku and letting the older boy bury his face in his chest. "We won't…"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I own Sora, Riku, Squall, Cloud, and Axel action figures. Does that mean I own Kingdom Hearts? 


	25. Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Notes: **Ahh, I am so sorry for the wait! I got some writers block, and school was eating up my time (as always). But I'm here now, and it's Spring Break! Woot!

I'm going to see if I can actually finish this story this week. There's only about three more chapters left! I have a whole week ahead of me to do it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! And to those waiting for one-shots, I haven't forgotten!

* * *

**Chapter 25**

_Calm Before the Storm_

* * *

When Sora woke up, he found Riku staring at him from his place leaning on the wall. He blinked for a moment, yawned, and sat up rubbing his eyes. Sunlight came through the window and illuminated the room in clear bright morning light, telling Sora that he'd slept in late.

"G'morning." Riku said with a small grin. Now that it was morning, and Riku had cleaned up a bit, and Sora wasn't nearly as shaky as he'd been the night before, he noticed how much older Riku looked now. His shoulders looked weighted down, and the expression on his face had a faint tiredness to it. And his eyes, they weren't the same—now they were almost closed, as if he'd built up mental barriers during the night and locked his emotions away.

Sora sat up and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "Is something wrong?" He asked once he could open his eyes without feeling sleep pulling them closed. Riku blinked at him and gave another smile, though this time it had a sad twist to it.

"I'm okay," He said, pushing off the wall. "Just thinking. I've been up since six. It's about eleven now." He looked out the window thoughtfully. "I was just watching you sleep."

Sora blushed at threw the blanket off his legs to hide it. "Oh."

Riku looked at him and motioned towards the door. "I'm going to make some lunch. What d'you want?"

As Sora grabbed a T-shirt to throw over the long-sleeved white shirt he'd worn to bed, he attempted a shrug. "Um… I feel like eggs."

Riku smiled at him again. "Alright. Come down when you're ready." He hesitated for a second as he turned towards the bedroom door, but seemed to shake it off, and left the room with a little wave.

Sora frowned to himself after emerging from the shirt and reaching for a pair of pants that Riku must have left out for him. He hadn't wanted to think too much on what Riku had told him last night, about their forgotten past and what had happened to him. He hadn't wanted to spoil seeing Riku again with such dark thoughts.

But now he couldn't just push them away. He'd finally been able to lie in bed next to Riku again, and now he knew that he'd done it a lot more in the past. Riku just felt so familiar and comfortable to be with. Now he realized the reason why.

_My mind may have forgotten, but my body didn't._ He smiled as he thought of that, and leaned against the dresser. _I just want to know what we've done together…_ If he could just remember that, he would be happy. He couldn't even imagine how much pain and torment Riku had gone through when he was stolen into the Army, and thinking about it made him want to shake the thoughts away.

_I don't know what he needs right now…_ he thought in sadness. _Does he want to be alone? Does he want me with him? Does he resent me for forgetting?_ _No, Riku wouldn't do that. He'd forgotten too._

With an explosive sigh, Sora tried to tame his hair a little before going downstairs to spend time with Riku. Besides, he didn't want Kadaj making a comment about Riku falling for little boys with monkey-man hair.

* * *

"An army of chocobo's."

Leon's voice was a little more dead-panned than usual. He and Cloud had gotten a few hours of sleep inside the building in a bunk room on the second floor after Cid had talked to security and confirmed their existence to Zexion. Now they were being led around the place by a rather polite girl who'd asked them to call her "Dagger". Cloud had been a little disturbed by that, but the girl was really just a polite, sweet young worker.

She nodded to Leon's exclamation and gestured behind, where a large room housed at least a hundred of the large, yellow birds. It smelled like a farm, and all of the birds were unusually silent. There were a hundred beady eyes centered on the three of them, and Cloud tried not to feel unnerved. "They've been specially bred and trained as war birds. Each has its own set of armor. We also have two of the rare white chocobo's, and one black, but only Zexion rides them."

Another thing Cloud found odd was that Dagger didn't use "master" or "sir" when she spoke of Zexion. But, he suspected that she had been told to. She was far too polite to do it on her own.

"So, when the Army comes up, you're going to storm them with a herd of chocobo riders?" Cloud asked. Dagger nodded.

"They've all been trained in the swamps. It gives us an advantage. You two, if you wish to fight, will be given a pair."

Cloud scowled as Leon nodded. _He_ had to stay in here and short circuit the Armies mechanical instruments while Leon got to go out and shoot people with his Gunblade. He supposed he should be happy, but he thought he'd be far too worried about Leon to do much other than frantically self-destruct things.

Dagger closed the door and turned down the hallway, Leon and Cloud following behind. They were both rather tired, since they hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, but they had one more night before the Army would land. Plus, once they were finished with the tour, they could go back to their bunk and rest.

"Zexion will be by at any moment," She said suddenly as they turned down a hallway. "I will bring you to the control room so you can speak with him."

Cloud grunted and brushed his shoulder against Leon on accident. The brunet gave him a strange glance, but seemed to brush it off as clumsiness and continued walking. Cloud sighed. _Whatever happened to my ability to walk as straight as a board…?_

Dagger led them around the offices, down an elevator, and then into a large room full of large counters covered in computers and flashy buttons. A few people were standing around, looking over each others shoulders and murmuring to themselves. Cid was sitting in front of a monitor, chewing on the stick that replaced his cigarette, and looking thoughtful.

"Thanks for the tour," Leon told Dagger, who nodded, smiled, and turned out of the room, closing the door gently behind her. Leon started towards Cid, and Cloud followed him. When they reached the blond man and looked at the computer, Cloud was sure that only he understood the gibberish passing the screen in white letters.

"You know what this says?" Cid grunted, looking at Cloud. The blond frowned as his eyes unfocused, staring at the flashing words and numbers.

"Usually means a locked program." He said with a shrug. "People use it to lock computers sometimes."

Cid frowned and rubbed his chin. "Odd thing is, all the computers are like this."

Cloud frowned. "All of them?"

That wasn't good. Swiftly, he took a seat at the computer beside Cid and lifted his hand to the screen, letting it hover there for a second as his eyes unfocused and he went inward. Codes and numbers and symbols flew passed him, and he interpreted them all as he sifted through the data network, glancing at pictures and reading commands given.

"Someone's tampered with the system." He said as he pulled out of the computer world, blinking. "It's all white fuzz—no communication. And it's spreading to the other electronics." He looked at Leon, who wore a dark expression. "If it stays that way, even radios won't work."

Cid looked troubled. "Can you fix it?"

Cloud frowned. "I think Zexion should know first. It might just be how the system works… computers are as diverse as humans sometimes."

Cid nodded. "Alright, I'll get him." And he pushed himself up out of the seat and turned towards the door. Cloud scratched his head and scowled. The white noise was starting to bother his ears.

"Looks like the Army's first strike has landed," Leon said darkly.

* * *

Roxas pulled back from Axel's mouth and licked his lips, wondering why he'd been so stubborn about Axel kissing him before. It wasn't as bad as he'd often made it out to be. Actually, he liked it a lot, now that he was taking the time indulge in it.

He and Axel had started out in separate rooms, but not even an hour after going to bed, Axel had crept in to lie next to him in his bed. Roxas had pretended to be asleep as Axel wrapped him in a warm embrace and curled up against him. He realized that Axel needed the contact—admittedly he needed it too—and had allowed himself to be held until he fell asleep.

When he woke up, he'd seen Axel's sleeping face for the first time.

Axel had always been an early riser, and had always played it off as wanting to watch Roxas sleep. Now he understood why Axel liked to do something like that. For once Axel didn't have a smirk on his lips and a mischievous glint in his eye. His face was slack, his mouth slightly open, and expression smooth.

He really hadn't expected Axel to have such a peaceful sleeping face. It made him just lay there and stare. He understood Axel's love for watching him sleep completely, if he slept like Axel.

Then Axel's expression was broken as he squeezed his eyes and groaned. His limp arms came to life and pulled Roxas closer, and blushing, Roxas had allowed it. It felt nice, really really nice. They lay like that for a long time, and then Axel pulled back and blue met green.

Roxas had leaned foreword and just kissed him. He hadn't even done that last night, as up-strung as he was. He kissed Axel and he let all his relief and sadness and happiness bleed through it, and Axel responded fiercely.

Roxas was happy that Axel didn't say anything when the pulled apart, panting. They really didn't need to. The things that needed to be said had been said the night before, and the emotions had been exposed.

When Axel gave him a smirk-grin after a few moments, Roxas finally allowed himself to admire it without feeling guilty. "I'm hungry."

Roxas made a noise and untangled himself from the red-head, brushing his hair down as Axel climbed out of bed. He held out a hand and helped Roxas up, laughing as the blond stumbled. Roxas gave him a glare, but followed him downstairs, greeted by the smell of cooking meat and eggs.

Roxas was surprised to see Riku at the stove with a spatula and a pan, casually flipping eggs and bacon as if he'd done it for his entire life. He glanced up when the entered the kitchen and gave them a slight wave. "Morning. There's toast in the toaster, and milk in the fridge. Eggs'll be done a minute."

Axel blinked at Riku and cocked his head. "I had no idea you could cook."

The silver-haired teen just shrugged. "I've cooked my entire life. Especially here, because Kadaj explodes things whenever he touches anything in here."

"I resent that," Said the voice of Kadaj, whose body followed it from around the corner in the living room. "I made you a birthday cake once!"

Riku snorted. "It was flour molded together with yeast and sugar on the top."

Kadaj scowled and waved a hand at him. "No respect."

Axel helped himself to a cup of milk as Kadaj went from annoyed to expectant when Riku turned off the stove. "I say you're both even—not a teeny bit of respect between either of you!"

Kadaj and Riku turned icy gazes on him, but Axel had been by far immune to them. Roxas was amused despite himself.

"Morning everyone!" Sora said from the stairs as he jumped off the last step and took a deep breath. "Mmm, Riku that smells so good!"

Riku smiled at Sora, and Roxas was damned sure that he didn't look at anyone else like that. "Just grab what you want. I made enough for everyone."

Sora grinned and nodded, practically bouncing to the counter to grab a plate. Breakfast for lunch actually felt rather tempting, and Roxas got up to get himself some food, happy that Sora seemed to be back to himself.

"Where's Zexion and Yazoo?" Axel asked Riku as the silver-haired teen took a seat at the table with his own food. Riku shrugged.

"Zexion went downstairs a while ago when someone called for him, and Yazoo went after him to start getting things ready. He should be back soon."

Sora and Roxas sat down at the dining table and started digging into their food as Kadaj watched. He looked thoughtful, and turned a fierce gaze of Riku when the silver-haired teen glanced at him.

"Riku…" He started, his voice a serious tone that no one had yet heard from him. All eating stopped, and everyone turned to look at him. "Zexion doesn't want you or Sora in the battle tomorrow."

There was silence for a tense moment, then Riku spoke in a voice thick with warning. "What?"

"And I agree with him." Kadaj brushed some of his hair out of his eyes and gave Riku a harsh look. "The two of you have been through enough. You need time to rest, and a battle like this, though it can't be helped, isn't going to make things better. Zexion wants the both of you to stay here when the fight starts, with Cloud, the computer guy who's going to be hacking into the Army's machines."

Riku stood from the table, nearly knocking Axel's milk over with the force. His eyes burned "Zexion can't tell me what Sora and I can and can't do. If I want to fight, I'm _going_ to fight!"

"I won't let you," Kadaj said calmly. "And I'll make sure you stay here."

"What about Axel and Roxas?" Riku snarled, glaring at the both of them. Roxas almost flinched, but managed to catch himself in time. "Why the hell are they allowed to fight, but Sora and I can't?!"

"Because they've been trained."

"Sora's been trained too!"

"But Sora was subjected to the same kinds of experiments you were, only more civilized and advanced." Kadaj's gaze could cut steel. "He's been through enough, and so have you."

"You won't let me get revenge for myself?!" Riku snapped, slamming his fists on the table. "Lock me up in here and treat me like a _child_? I am _far_ older than you will _ever_ be Kadaj!"

"And that's why the fuck I'm making you _stay here_!"

Riku froze, but was still seething. Kadaj's final words had been shouted, and he looked just as angry as Riku. "I didn't even know I could _feel_ as bad as I did when we thought you were dead Riku! I didn't know that I cared about you so much!

"And now you want to go and throw your life on the line! I don't want to feel like that again, because I know you're a reckless prat who would rather save someone else. I _know_ you would take a bullet for Sora, or Axel, or Roxas, and I don't want to have to think about you lying dead somewhere in the middle of a mud pit."

Riku grit his teeth. "But Yazoo—"

"I've known Yazoo my whole life Riku, and I know he wouldn't risk his life recklessly. I trust him to fight more than you right now, because you're tired and weak and emotionally drained."

"Fuck you Kadaj!"

"Fuck you too Riku!" Kadaj snarled. "But like it or not, I'm _not_ going to let you or Sora fight if it's last thing I _fucking_ do!"

He turned on his heel and stomped out of the kitchen, leaving a stunned silence. Riku glared after him, his hands clenched white-knuckled on the table top. Slowly, carefully he sat back down and started eating, ignoring Axel and Roxas' wary glances. Sora looked thoughtfully at his food.

The breakfast/lunch was finished in total, almost uncomfortable silence, and Riku stood once both he and Sora were done.

"C'mon Sora," He said, catching Sora's attention. "I want you to meet someone."

* * *

Sora had to trot to keep up with Riku's long, purposeful strides, but he didn't mind. Fast-walking was a great way to release anger in his opinion.

He himself wasn't too annoyed about being left out of the fight the next day. He would have liked to fight beside his friends and the king, but he cared more about Riku than a fight, and he had to admit that Kadaj did have a point. Riku could be reckless, and he wouldn't think twice about endangering himself to save someone else, and that could be dangerous in a huge battle like this.

As they continued to walk, Sora kept his eyes on the floor, watching Riku's feet to know when to turn or stop. He would be so glad when this whole thing was over. Now he could dare to think what a world not ruled by the Army could become. He'd heard stories of King Xemnas' states and his police force, and he'd hardly allowed himself to dream of a world where he wasn't constantly watched.

_It would be so nice…_ He thought, allowing himself to wonder for a moment. The police would destroy the tight surveillance, they would get rid of the research labs and the unfair laws and replace them with things that actually _helped_ people. The officers might be like Zell, and those in the port town where the ship had shoved off.

Sora was suddenly forced out of his wonderings when Riku's feet stopped moving. He had to pull back so that he wouldn't collide with Riku, and then looked around him, since he was too short to see over his shoulder.

Riku knocked twice on an office door, and then opened it and motioned for Sora to enter first. The brunet blinked and went in ahead of him, his eyes drawn immediately to a small corner where three people were sitting. The rest of the room was full of computers, and there was a pull-screen right beside the people at the large meeting table.

"Ah, Cloud, Leon!"

The blond and brunet looked up from the papers on the table and craned around to look at them. Sora grinned and waved, trotting over to them as Riku closed the door. "When did you get here?"

"Just last night," Cloud said, shuffling papers around. He put them into a relatively organized pile and then smiled at Sora. "Zexion's told us everything."

Sora turned and noticed the third person at the table, Zexion, Riku's uncle. The silver-haired man gave a little wave.

"Leon, Cloud!"

All the attention turned to Riku, who'd come up to the table in silence. He was smiling now, Sora was glad to note. "I'm so glad you guys are alright…"

"Us too," Cloud grinned, standing up so that he could ruffle Riku's hair. The teen squawked and pushed his hands away. "Zexion's explained everything. So you got blown off a ship eh?"

Riku managed to dislodge Cloud's hand and snort. "Of course."

Leon eyed Riku for a moment as Cloud continued to taunt him, and then leaned back, bringing attention to himself. "You're not hiding your markings."

Riku blinked and looked down at his bare arms. He'd put on a short sleeve shirt, and the circles around his throat and arms were totally visible. He lifted them and shrugged. "The people here know about me, and so does Axel and Roxas."

Leon frowned. "But you still look different."

Riku's smile slowly slipped off his face and he looked away. "Yeah. I got my memories back."

Cloud started slightly. "So do you know how you got the markings?"

Riku nodded, then he locked his jaw and forced himself to look up. "It's Mako, it its unrefined liquid form. The people at the lab… wanted to test it on me."

Sora slipped his hand into Riku's and fought back a flinch when his friend squeezed it hard. Sora squeezed back and moved closer, offering his support.

"I… I was taken from my adoptive family almost three years ago. My parents had been killed in an army raid, just like Sora's, and the orphanages were so overcrowded that they were almost paying people to adopt children. Sora, Roxas, a girl named Kairi and me were adopted into families, but me and Sora were taken by people who didn't really want us. My family signed me up for the army to get rid of me, and… they kept me in one of the labs."

He took a shaky breath and Sora rubbed his hand with his thumb. Riku had to talk about it, he knew. The more he did, the less the pain would be. "They cut fissures in my skin and poured unrefined Mako into them, and it _burned_—" He gulped slightly and squeezed Sora's hand harder. "No one in that place talked to anyone else. People died left and right—at lunch, at night, walking in the hallways… they treated us like rats."

"I know," Leon said suddenly. Everyone but Riku and Sora looked at him in surprise. "I was stationed there. I was patrolling the halls one day, in the place where I wasn't supposed to be, and I saw you." He looked at Riku. "Through a door window. They were… injecting it into you, and you were screaming. I could hear it through the door." The brunet looked away, clenching his fists. "That's… that's when I left the Army. I knew Cloud was still there, but I had friends who could help him get out, and they did. Both of us were runaways, and I was a coward." He closed his eyes.

Riku stared at him. "I remember you. I wondered why you were there."

Leon shrugged. Cloud turned to say something to him, but the door to the room opened suddenly, making them all turn to look. A man who looked to be in his late forties stood there, blinking for a moment, before he turned his attention to Zexion. "Zexion sir, Benikan decided to leave for home at the last minute."

That was all that Sora could hear, because there was an intense buzzing in his ears, and a pulling sensation towards the man. He didn't hear Zexion's reply, and could hardly see or feel as Riku let his hand go and suddenly grabbed the mans arm. The man looked startled, and then angry. His mouth moved to say something, but Sora couldn't hear it.

The only thing he could hear was Riku's voice, clear in the buzzing.

"This guy's working for the army Zexion!" He snapped. "Last night I felt another guy the same way. Something _tells_ me…"

"Me too." Sora found himself saying. Riku gave him a surprised look as he rubbed his ears. "This sounds like the buzzing in the medical rooms…"

Riku nodded and looked at the man, who seemed a little nervous now. Suddenly the man started choking, and his free hand went up to his throat, scrabbling at it as if he couldn't get enough air. Riku stared at him in confusion, and Sora felt the buzzing lessen.

"Riku—stop looking at him!"

Riku blinked and looked away, and the man suddenly dropped to the floor, taking in great gulps of air. Sora and Riku exchanged nervous glances as Zexion strode over to the man, who seemed to be half-conscious.

"Whatever that was, we have to interrogate him," Zexion grunted. "I'll call Yazoo."

But there was no need for that. Yazoo suddenly came bursting into the room. He spared a quick glance at the man, frowned, but shook it off.

"We've got trouble," He said in a rush, "Army ships are just off the coast. They'll be here in less than half-an hour."

Zexion snarled. "What? They were supposed to be here tomorrow!"

"Apparently their boats are faster than we thought," Yazoo said gravely. "But there's good news too—cities have started _rebelling_. The Organization's plans are starting."

Zexion took a deep breath and nodded, shoving the man at Yazoo. "He's suspected of spying. Interrogate him please, and get Kadaj to help."

Yazoo smirked. "With pleasure…" He said as he grabbed the mans arm and half dragged him away. Riku and Sora exchanged glances again as Leon walked to the door and Cloud threw himself into a computer seat.

"Get ready," Zexion told them as he let Leon pass through the door first. "Fight starts in twenty minutes."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **No ownage. 


	26. Fight!

**Author's Notes: **Boy, long chapter this time! I hope this didn't go too fast. It feels fast... errh, I don't like this chapter too much. . This is the first war/battle kind of thing I've ever written, and I don't think I did a very good job…

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my horrible writing for this... Just two more chapters to go, and then it's over!

Ooh, it'll feel strange to have this story over!

* * *

**Chapter 26**

Fight!

* * *

Ansem allowed his mouth to curve up in what he'd always believed to be an evil smirk. He could see the island now, from his place on the bow of the Monou, his prized warship. After all, he only got the best for himself. 

_You are here, my little jewel_, he thought to himself, licking his lips as he stared at the towers he could see in the distance. _The jewel that will help me achieve my goal…_ _King Xemnas will no longer oppose me…_

Did the king actually think Ansem could be defeated? Because if he did, he was sorely mistaken. There were a lot of things his Army were capable of, and every day they grew in strength and intelligence. Soon, Ansem could overthrow King Xemnas and his puny police force. Then the Army would rule the four continents, and not just the designated cities.

_But I will need my jewel to do that…_

He laughed lowly to himself and continued to watch as the ships approached the shore. Oh, as soon as he had the power, everything would be _perfect_. He had to admit that when Leon and Cloud got away back at the academy, he'd been rather disheartened, but when he learned that the results from a test on one of his subjects had come back with such excellent results, his heart had soared.

But then he realized that his subject had gotten away. He had been _very_ displeased. The entire Army was to blame, for letting those two boys run free, and for sending _traitors_ after them. But then he'd heard from one of his spies that his prize was _here_, and he had regained hope.

_I'm coming for you Sora…_

"Sir!"

Ansem turned to one of his soldiers and nodded to let him speak. The man bowed low and then straightened.

"Sir, we will reach the island in twenty minutes. The troops are ready, and everything is set."

Ansem smiled. "Very good. Everything is in our power now. Return to your post, and deploy the cruisers."

"Sir!" The man saluted and then trotted off. Ansem could not get the smirk off of his face, no matter how hard he tried.

Then something slammed into the side of his ship.

He stumbled as his soldiers rushed to the sides of the deck, shouting and gazing into the waters. Then a ladder latched onto the side of his ship, a ladder that had grapples, and hooked one of his soldiers before catching the rail. The man screamed in pain, and Ansem felt his lip curl.

Before his soldiers could get a hold of the grapples to throw them off, or help the screaming man, three tattooed men jumped on deck and slashed at his soldier's throats, laughing. More grapple hooks flew on board and more tattooed men came up and started slaughtering his men, who had yet to get their weapons ready.

Ansem sneered. _The Dreamers. So they are working for Xemnas?_

He retreated into the hull while his soldiers fought against the pirates. The Dreamers had snuck up on them from behind in rowboats, he saw, as the small boats attacked his other two ships.

No one had been looking behind. He cursed, and vowed to punish his commanders for that.

* * *

Zexion looked at the chocobo riders. There were fifty of them, and then behind them another group of about seventy soldiers on foot, with guns and swords. 

It wasn't enough.

He resisted the urge to bite his knuckles in thought as Cid rallied them at the front, telling them what they could and could not do. The Dreamers were here, and they'd sent word to them to prepare, but the dreamers were only a few hundred. The army had at least two-hundred people in each troop, and three ships with twelve troops each were approaching.

He'd done the math in his head, growing steadily more nervous. _Seventy-two hundred soldiers._ _We have about three-hundred_.

Those were not good odds.

Reinforcements were coming, he knew. But the King had only gotten word yesterday night, when Zexion had managed to give him the news. The police wouldn't be here for another few hours.

_Can we hold out until then?_

He took another look at the soldiers he'd collected as Cid gave them a few last rules. _Three-hundred to seven-thousand. God help us._

"Alright!" Cid cried, and then opened the door to let the soldiers through. The chocobo's warbled and screeched as their riders spurred them foreword, and then they dashed into the mossy ground outside, disappearing into the trees. Guerilla tactics were what they were sticking to right now, and to hold the Army troops back as much as possible.

Zexion saw Leon ride passed on one of his special bred chocobo's, his Gunblade on his shoulder, and hoped that it would be enough.

_We can't afford to loose right now, not when we're so close!_

Cid came up to him, breaking him out of his musings. They wouldn't go out until the next group, the soldiers on foot. The men were shifting and looking around at each other. But none of them looked scared.

"Has there been any news from the Organization?" Zexion asked Cid once he was within normal speaking range. The blond shook his head.

"Only to hold out as long as possible. Last I heard the rioting is getting pretty bad, but we're doing something."

Zexion nodded. "The Dreamers are in position?"

Cid nodded. "They're set to raid the ships. In fact, they should be doing that now."

Zexion nodded again. "Good. It'll slow them down a little…"

Suddenly Cid's radio hissed, and Leon's voice came through. They'd given a few of them to the chocobo riders to report anything disastrous.

"_Cid, remember that wolf?_" He said, perfectly calm. Zexion looked at Cid and paled. They'd explained to him about the decomposed animal they'd fought when they'd contacted him last night.

"Yeah, what of it?" Cid asked, looking grim.

"_There's more of them. They're taking down the chocobo's. Three guys are on foot." _

Cid cursed. "Do whatever you can to get away from them. Just get as many people as possible to the coast."

"_Right."_ The connection fizzed and then went out. Zexion sighed heavily and ran a hand over his eyes.

"This hasn't started well."

Cid shook his head, looking grim.

* * *

Roxas looked up at Zexion from his place at Axel's side and squared his jaw. Things didn't look like they were going well. He turned to Axel and sighed. "It hasn't started well." 

The red head shrugged and looked rather bored. "I could have told you that. You've got five to one odds, 'course it's not gonna start well."

Roxas shook his head and shouldered his sword. Axel had his chakrams ready, and Roxas could already feel heat coming off of him. Not many people really knew how Axel could summon fire like he did, but most hadn't wanted to ask. Roxas had though, and Axel had just told him that he'd always been able to do it. He said it had something to do with being born surrounded by Mako energy, but that was all he would say. He couldn't remember the rest.

Roxas hadn't pried. So long as Axel could do it—and maintain his mind as he did—then he didn't care. Axel himself meant more to him than his ability to summon fire.

"Do you really think Riku and Sora are gonna stay in the building like good little boys?" Roxas asked, to get his mind off of Axel's fire. The red-head smirked and turned to him.

"'Course not. Riku's gonna find _some_ way of getting in the fight. And Sora will follow him."

Roxas sighed and rolled his eyes. He shouldn't have asked.

"Well, let's just hope everything's will go well for us."

Axel shrugged and nodded as Cid stepped in front of them and started shouting orders. Zexion had mounted his black chocobo and was walking to the front, standing beside Cid. Roxas clenched his hands on his blade and waited.

* * *

Sora hurried to catch up with Riku as they sped through the hallways, towards the top floor. When Zexion and Leon had left, Riku spent a moment in annoyed thought, and then sped out of the room. Sora had followed him on instinct, not really wanting to be separated from him now that he'd just gotten him back. They reached one of the elevators at the end of a hallway and Riku jumped inside, barely waiting for Sora before punching the button for the roof. 

"Why are we going all the way up there?" Sora asked, a little breathless. Riku gave a bit of a sneer as he stood there, fingers tapping against the palms of his hands.

"We can see some of what's going on from up there. I can't just sit around like Zexion expects me to."

Sora grunted and accepted that. He could understand Riku's anxiety—he would have liked to be down there doing something too—but Zexion did have a point. With the both of them as tired as they were—mentally and physically—they stood more of a chance of getting hurt.

The elevator reached the roof and Riku stalked out into a large, flat area and was immediately buffeted by wind. His hair flew around his head as if it had grown life, and Sora had to hold a hand to his to keep it from blowing in his eyes. He followed Riku to the edge of the building and looked down, biting his lip. In the distance he could see three large ships. They were almost within range to deploy.

"There's a lot of men on those ships," Sora told Riku, feeling his chest clench in anxiety. "I think it was twelve troops of two-hundred each."

Something caught Sora's attention from below and he looked down, a little dazzled by the height. People were marching out of the building now. They looked like little ants disappearing into the forest from this height."

"There goes Zexion, Axel, and Roxas." He mumbled. Riku grumbled something at his side, and Sora knew that he was frustrated.

Then there was a loud thump in the air, and one of the Army's three ships burst into flame. Sora's eyes widened and he leaned more over the edge, as if to get a better look.

"The Dreamers must be attacking," Riku said quietly. Sora looked at him. "That cuts down their army by a third."

Sora nodded and closed his eyes, glad.

"What's that?" Riku's snapped, bringing Sora's attention over the building again. Over the forest there seemed to be large, hovering bugs. Sora gasped as he recognized them.

"They fliers, little bikes that use electricity to fly. They'd just perfected them before I left the academy."

Riku hissed and cursed. "Dammit! I should be down there!"

Sora bit his lip and grabbed Riku's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Suddenly his fingers grew warm and started to tingle in the places where his skin touched Riku's. He looked down, surprised to find that the blue light from his hand was back, but this time it was mingling with a green glow from Riku's hand.

Sora looked up and exchanged awed glances with Riku, then lifted their hands up to their faces, never letting go. The light licked at their fingers, never mingling colors, but embracing each other, as if they hadn't seen each other for years and were catching up.

"It's like on the island, when I healed my leg," Riku said. Sora blinked and looked at him, then back at their hands.

"Mine glowed too, just before you showed up here."

They looked at each other again, and then back at their hands. The tingling in Sora's hand grew worse, until it felt like something was chewing on it, but he still didn't let Riku go. The lights were turning more solid, like flames, and growing larger as they watched.

Then something from his stomach leapt up and into his hand, making the flames burst up like a beacon, engulfing the both of them in gentle warmth. It didn't hurt them at all as it continued to circle them, green and blue. Riku stared around at it, his eyes wide and confused, but at the same time awed.

The tingling in Sora's fingers suddenly stopped, and between his and Riku's clasped hands something solid materialized. Sora and Riku watched, unable to look away, as an oversized, wicked looking key took shape between them.

Immediately the flames died down, licking around the key for just a moment before retreating down the shaft and into both Riku and Sora's arms.

"The _fuck_?" Riku snapped.

"Keyblade… Oblivion." Sora muttered, shaking his head. "It's called a keyblade."

Riku frowned and moved to release the handle. The tingling returned to Sora's hand, and he yelped in surprise. Riku tightened his hand again and looked at Sora in concern.

"I… I think both of us have to be holding it to make it stay solid," He said, lifting it up along with Riku's hand. "It feels like it's gonna disappear when you let go."

Riku blinked and frowned at the blade again. "Weird."

Sora looked down at the trees at the urging of something beyond his mind, and saw the fliers. The keyblade twanged in his fingers, as if it was encouraging him to look at them. Judging by Riku's slight jump, he'd felt it too.

"I… I think it wants us to fight." Sora said, looking down at the blade.

"Yeah but how?" Riku looked out over the edge of the building. "Zexion's locked the building down to keep us in."

"The fliers." Sora blinked and lifted his hand. The blue flame burst to life over his fingers. "I think the keyblade's going to help."

"This is weird Sora…" Riku mumbled nervously.

"But it feels okay," Sora looked at him. "Just… just _right_. Like… it was with you."

Riku looked at Sora for a long moment, then let out a sigh. "Well, if it feels that way, it can't be bad right? And we can fight."

Sora nodded and smiled, and then clenched his fist with the keyblade's gentle whisper. One of the fliers froze and spun upside down, and then raced towards them, leaving the others far behind. Sora concentrated on it as it made its way over, and when it was only a few feet from the building edge, unclenched his fist and gasped. Riku climbed onto the edge of the building and grabbed one of the handle-bars, pulling the flier closer. He looked at Sora and nodded. "Ready?"

Sora nodded and followed Riku onto the flier, keeping his hand on the keyblade on top of Riku's. He wrapped his free arm around Riku's waist as the older boy gripped the handlebar in one hand and pushed the thing forward, gaining more and more speed as they flew away from the tower.

And all the while, the keyblade hummed happily against Sora and Riku's fingers, as if eager for battle.

* * *

Leon cursed as the first group of Army soldiers landed. He was already covered in blood from the fight with those transported monsters, and a few of the men were tired from fighting them off. Even though they were decomposing they were still annoyingly hard to kill. 

_That's the reason they sent them…_ Leon told himself as he aimed his Gunblade and shot three rounds into the docking boat before they got to land. Three people fell, sending the others into a frenzy. He sneered silently to himself. _The training for these idiots is worthless. The Army really has gone down hill in the last few years._

The first two boats landed and dropped their ramps, spilling soldiers onto the island. There were about fifty men per boat, and Leon felt a little bit better about their numbers. The Dreamers were picking off boats on their own, and he'd seen the battleship explode, which lifted his spirits even higher. But, there were still a lot of soldiers to fight, and he made sure not to get his hopes up too high.

He shot five more before retreating back and waiting for them to enter the forest. Around him he saw other men on chocobo's, waiting like him for the soldiers to penetrate into the swampy land inside. They just had to keep the Army from getting to the tower, at least until the kings police arrived.

They waited for ten minutes for the Army to get confident and deep into the forest, and then they attacked. The chocobo's were completely silent—strange for the big birds—as they leapt in and out, letting their riders dig into the troops of soldiers with guns and swords. As soon as the men started screaming and shooting they would dart back into the brush and double back to attack the ones hiding in the underbrush.

Leon forced himself to keep from looking at the other riders, and focused only on slicing down as many soldiers as he could, while guiding his chocobo and avoiding bullets. It felt like training all over again, and his nerves and thoughts were locked into a box, where they wouldn't bother him.

This was his killing mask.

He pulled his chocobo to a stop when something made noise from above and looked up. Above them were fliers, and he cursed as he spurred his chocobo into action again. That gave the Army a bit of an advantage, but the trees gave the rebels and even better advantage. He just hoped Cloud could tear them down before they got to the tower.

Suddenly his chocobo squealed, wheeling around and going off into the trees for a second before he could control it again. He looked up in the direction of the tower, where a huge ripple of what felt like wind had passed through him.

_What was that…?_ He thought, fighting to calm his chocobo.

He waited, safe from the battle for a moment, before shaking it off and returning to the fight. It might have been Cloud, destroying the machines.

* * *

Cloud looked up at the ceiling as the energy rippled down, and hoped it was for _their_ side. 

He'd been fighting through the computer ever since Leon had left. The frizz that the army had clouded the computer channels with was especially hard to deal with, and he was having trouble breaking through to the machines. He knew he was close though—the buzzing was finally starting to thin out.

_Just a little twitch here and a turn there… alright! Back in business!_

He held his hands up to the computer screen and jumped into the world of data and numbers, swimming through it like an eel. He could feel the fliers over the forest, and one by one destroyed the computers inside of them, making them useless. There was one close to the building, and he made a grab for that one before he froze.

There was strength coming from it—and a prescience that felt familiar. He dug into the machines core, and realized that its operator was someone he knew.

"Godammit Riku!" He snapped, not knowing if it was aloud or in his head. He threw himself away from that machine and moved to the high-powered guns of the Army's ships, and then the ships own computers. He destroyed them all, trying to keep his mind off of the pair speeding towards the battle.

But somewhere, in the far, far reaches of his mind, that power was familiar.

Sora kept a tight hold of Riku's hand as they sped over the trees. He could feel the keyblade whispering in his mind, it's thoughts so similar to his own that it was hard to distinguish it's presence from his own thoughts. It was telling him to fight, to fly, to go, that he was going the right way with the right person.

He shook his head to clear his mind. Now wasn't the time to be confused.

"Riku, we have to go to that middle ship!" He called over the rushing wind. Riku turned his head slightly so that he could hear better. "That's what the keyblade's telling me!"

Riku gave him a slightly skeptical look, but decided to trust him, and sped up. Sora looked down as they passed over the beach, then blanched and hid behind Riku as bullets sped passed them. _They must know something's wrong if a flyer is going back to the ship…_

_Either that, or they're supposed to kill the ones that do try to go back…_

Sora gulped and tightened his grip on both Riku and the keyblade. They were over water now, and he was feeling butterflies move around against the walls of his stomach. This would be his first real battle…

_But I have Riku with me, and the keyblade. Everything will be okay…_

He shook his head again and looked up determinedly. They would win, now that the keyblade was on their side.

* * *

Axel found himself laughing as he set part of the forest on fire. 

He allowed Roxas to grab him and drag him back into the fight though, and returned to himself. He shook his head and gave Roxas a look in thanks, and then tossed his chakram's—swathed in flames—towards the group of soldiers in their way. Zexion, once they started meeting troops, had decided that Axel could deal with the front-most fighters, and the ones who survived him would be dealt with by everyone else.

Roxas stayed by his side and slashed and cut with a blank face, just like everyone else. He'd shut himself away so that he could kill.

Axel had never liked Roxas's killing face. One had to know that normally, Roxas was a slight-tempered, kind person, who would help any friend in need if they asked. When Roxas was killing people, his eyes were cold, but he always had an amused smirk on his face.

Axel found it a bit disturbing, but he didn't mind. He was rattled in the head too.

With a twirl he caught his chakram's as they came back, the flames doused by blood, and then used them to slice through a few nearby enemies. Once there was no one nearby, he threw them again—after setting them aflame of course—and burned through a new path for the rebels to fight through.

"Keep moving!" He heard Zexion call to the back of the crowd of rebels who were being left behind. Axel snorted and readied his chakrams again.

There was a slight flash in his left eye, and because Axel was only human, he turned to look, his attention snared.

Roxas screamed as his arm was bitten. A large, half-decomposing wolf creature had leaped out of the forest and caught him completely unawares. Zexion screamed at his men, the soldiers screamed, and Axel saw red.

He threw both of his chakrams at the beast, and laughed in delight as it screamed and caught fire. Some rebels ran foreword and shot and cut at it. Axel lifted his arms and summoned the chakrams back—he'd always been able to do that—and then ran over to Roxas, who was lying curled up on the ground and clutching his arm.

"How is it?" He asked, helping Roxas sit up as the rebels destroyed the burning wolf and moved foreword. Zexion lingered for a moment, but Axel nodded him on, and he moved with the rest towards the beach.

"Pretty bad," Roxas hissed, his face a cloud of pain. His left arm hung limp as his side, bloody and ripped. "It's broken…"

Axel cursed and helped Roxas remove the light cloth shirt. He bit his cheek. Roxas's arm was dislocated, broken, and had deep gashes where the creatures teeth had torn through skin. One was almost bone deep.

"You can't fight anymore Roxy."

Roxas scowled at the ground. "Dammit… I wanted to actually achieve something in this fight! But I'm left behind, like I _always_ am." There were tears of anger and frustration in his eyes. Axel closed his own and gave Roxas a careful hug.

"I'll fight twice as hard for you. I _promise_."

Roxas still looked angry, but there was nothing else he could do. Axel helped him stand and walked him over to the small procession of wounded rebels heading back to the building. He grabbed his chakrams and Roxas's sword, looking after him as his little blond disappeared into the trees.

_They'll regret this…_ He thought, with a dark smirk, and turned around, letting the fire engulf his rational thought. He happily set the wolf's corpse on fire again, and then did the same with the soldiers. Afterwards, he felt a little bit better, and hurried to catch up with Zexion.

* * *

As soon as they reached the ship, Riku understood why the keyblade had led them to it. 

Here he felt the pull, but it was three times as bad as it had been with the spies. He could ignore the feeling, but it kept making him want to turn and look towards the door into the navigation room. He knew what it meant, as he slid off the hover-car with Sora and stood ready as the soldiers converged.

The boss of the Army was on this ship.

Riku's hand clenched and he gave Sora a reassuring glance as the first soldiers stepped up and attacked. It was as if the keyblade was sentient, and it made both of their arms lift and point towards them, as if saluting.

And then they were off.

It didn't even feel awkward with two people on one weapon. The keyblade led both of them equally, making Sora take a step back to keep from falling when Riku turned. The both of them slashed and cut, ignoring the people falling around them. It was like a dance, and they were doing it perfectly.

Step, jump, slash, cut, turn, step back, stab—and Sora followed each of his movements as if he could read his mind. It was different—exciting, thrilling.

Riku caught sight of Vincent—the leader of the Dreamers—in one of his turns, and smirked. The Dreamers were crawling all over the ship too, helping them fight.

A gush of pure elation filled Riku, and seemed to leak into Sora, so that their dance became wilder, and they cut and slashed and defended and parried with more vigor.

Vincent caught his eye and smirked. Even during the day he looked shrouded in darkness, but Riku knew he meant no harm.

And the keyblade sang with every cut, spurring them on.

* * *

Cloud sighed and leaned back in his chair. He'd checked and double checked, and every system on the Army's side was dead now. 

_Except for one flier…_

He frowned and scratched his head, then looked out the large window. The forest was on fire now—that would be Axel's doing. He sighed slightly and stood up, pushing away from the computer.

Now he had nothing to do.

He started to pace in front of the window, chewing on his knuckle. They hadn't heard any reports from Zexion, but the fight seemed to be going well. It had been about an hour and a half since the start of the fight, but it felt like only a few moments. Everything was happening so quickly.

He shook his head and forced himself to stop pacing. He just had to keep telling himself that Leon and Zexion, Roxas, Axel, Riku, and Sora would be alright.

Yazoo had gone out into the fight, and left Kadaj behind to watch over the spy they were interrogating. He'd come in just as Cloud was rechecking, and had made a call with King Xemnas, explaining something that Cloud hadn't caught because he was absorbed in the computer world. Then he'd left in a hurry, and was now standing guard by the spies locked room, or so the building said.

The police were also moving faster than planned. Xemnas had sent a message to the computer before it was locked, saying that he'd deployed earlier, on just a hunch that things would go better that way. They were nearby now—probably about an hour away. Cloud was beginning to cradle hope. They were fighting pretty well, picking off soldiers as they came. He could tell how far away the Army's troops were thanks to Axel's fire. Every new fire that popped up, he knew the Army was there.

He also knew, thanks to the building security, that Roxas had come back wounded. The doctors were working on him now, fighting to save his arm, which had looked pretty badly torn up.

And the system on the flier had told him where Riku and Sora were. They were on Ansem's battleship. He knew it was Ansem's, because the systems on the ship had told him that too.

Cloud took a deep breath and let it out. _Just one hour… we have to hold out for_ one more _hour…_

And he knew they would. They _had_ to.

* * *

Leon was getting tired. 

He grunted as he cut through another soldier. They just kept coming! Rolling wave after wave, and some were now coming out of the sea- the one's who had survived the Dreamer's attacks on the ships. His chocobo was breathing hard, but it was bred for hard work. He hadn't fought like this in a long time.

He cut a few more soldiers before returning to the brush. He could smell fire in the distance, and knew that Axel was doing his job. He doubted anyone was getting passed him.

He took a deep breath and forced those thoughts away. His mask was breaking in his weariness, and he had to solidify it again. How long had he been fighting? Two hours now? Almost three?

It had been nonstop since the beginning. But now, he could see that the troops were thinning, just a little bit. They were winning, or close to it now.

He hadn't let many soldiers get passed him, or the other chocobo rider's, so he knew that they would be joined by the foot soldiers soon.

_It'll be great to have Axel here, blowing things up for us…_

He looked out towards the beach, which he could just see through the trees. The ship that had caught flames was slowly sinking, and the middle, biggest ship as starting to smoke. The one on the right looked like it was still manually deploying boats. That was the only one with any organization.

He swallowed and returned to the fight. He closed himself up again, and chopped a man's arm off with little thought.

* * *

Axel grunted as he flamed a few more trees. His body was aching in a way that it never had before. Probably because he was using so much fire. He'd never used this much fire before—he'd never had a reason, really. He'd been trained to this point before, and he knew he could go further. Though, he'd be hurting tomorrow. 

He threw fire into another few trees, and noticed the sea.

_Finally…_ he took a deep breath and let Zexion rally his few leftover rebels into a charge. They rushed passed him with Zexion on his black chocobo in the lead, and joined the first group of chocobo riders.

Axel found himself leaning against a tree and not remembering when it happened. He shook his head and pushed off, squinting as a white chocobo slid to a stop in front of him.

Leon stared down at him, his eyes cold. Axel smirked and gave him a little wave.

"How's the killing going?" He said, feeling a little dizzy. Leon frowned at him.

"You should rest," he said, then snapped his head foreword and charged his chocobo towards a pair of soldiers that had sneaked passed Zexion. Axel waited patiently for him to come back, and smiled at him when he did, shaking blood off his Gunblade.

"Mmmaybe." Axel grunted and stumbled a little. Leon sighed and tapped the chocobo, and it kneeled.

"Get on." He said. Axel blinked at him for a second before he understood the command, and then slowly climbed onto the bird. Once he was securely in place, Leon tapped the chocobo into a standing position. "Can you use more fire?"

"Mmm, this way yeah."

"Then use it," Leon grunted as he spurred the bird onward, and Axel smiled.

"Okay."

* * *

Riku coughed and fell to his knees. Sora followed him with a small cry, and helped him stand up again. 

He was getting tired. Even the keyblade's gentle murmurs weren't enough anymore. He was only human—his body couldn't take as much as something like Oblivion.

"We have to find the boss," Sora gasped to him as they slid sloppily through a move that would have been simple for them earlier. "We have to get him before we fall."

"I know," Riku hissed back, spinning and slashing a soldier across the chest. They were getting thinner, thank the gods. He turned towards the door to the hull, where that pull was coming from, and nodded. "I think I know where he is."

"Y-You do?" Sora gasped. Riku nodded, and didn't wait for Sora to acknowledge it as he ran towards the door with him, cutting where they keyblade told him to cut.

They blade unlocked the door as they pointed at it, and they pushed inside. The tugging sensation in Riku's head suddenly ceased as he set eyes upon the dark-skinned, silver-haired man standing inside the hull. He turned around and glared at them, opening his mouth as if to shout, and then his eyes locked onto the keyblade.

"My jewel…" he whispered, his eyes burning. Riku felt Sora shiver at his side, and moved closer, listening to the keyblade as it's mutters became angry hisses towards that man. "It has awakened…"

Riku sneered as the mans golden eyes slid from the keyblade to Sora, and he smiled a nasty smile. "Sora, you've awakened it… just as the report said…"

Riku looked at Sora from the corner of his eye and clenched the fist around the keyblade. Sora looked terrified to see this man. Riku turned to look at him, and moved closer to Sora. He could hear yelling coming from outside the door, but Vincent must be dealing with the soldiers, since none were coming in to protect their leader.

"I will reward you greatly," the man said to Sora, his nasty smile back. "Now, give me the keyblade."

The keyblade roared, and Riku and Sora had no choice but to obey it. Their arms lifted, pointing at Ansem. Riku noticed that the call had calmed Sora, and his eyes were clear. The mans eyes widened and he took a step back as the blade started to glow green and blue, and caught Riku and Sora up in flame.

"This ends it," Riku and Sora said together, with the keyblade, as the abnormal flames tore around the room, not harming them, but burning the Army's leader as it licked at his feet eagerly.

With a gentle nudge, Riku and Sora lifted the keyblade, and brought it down.

The world went white.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Me noooo own. 


	27. Rebirth

**Author's Notes: **Next day update! Woot!

I'll see if I can get the last chapter written tomorrow. I want to make it really good, so I might not have the chance. But definitely by next weekend! And by then, I hope to have the one-shots I owe people finished as well!

I'm debating if I should have a one-shot prize for 150 reviews, since I have two backed up. If I can finish them, then I probably will!

I don't like this chapter either! But I tried. I might fix it up later, when my writing skills grow, but for now it'll work.

And I'm so glad people liked my last chapter! I was so nervous about it!

Anyway, a lot of things are answered here. I hope you enjoy, and aren't too confused!

* * *

**Chapter 27**

Rebirth

* * *

Sora could see nothing but white, all around him. It was a big change from before… Or at least, what he _thought_ was before.

"Ahaha, aw Sora, you've been through a lot haven't ya?"

Sora shifted around, blinking. The voice sounded oddly familiar, as if it was an age old friend come to see him after years and years of being apart.

"That keyblade really is somethin' isn't it?" The voice sounded contemplative. Sora could just imagine the speaker to be crossing their arms. "Even across time and dimensions, it still finds the true key bearer."

Sora frowned at the whiteness. "What are you talking about?" He asked, but he didn't think he could even say it. He didn't think he had a real body here.

"I think this time though; the keyblade won't be coming back." The voice was just talking to itself now, it seemed. But Sora listened. "It was there, with the power of a friend with the same heart, to help you fight one last battle. Now, I think your soul can really rest Sora."

The whiteness rippled, and Sora caught sight of a pair of large, circular ears and a slightly pointy nose. "You and Riku really deserve it. Anyway, maybe I'll see you again, in some other time, in some other dimension?" The voice gave its little laugh again. "Tootles!"

The white suddenly began to drain into darkness. As it did so, a name came to him, and it felt warm when he opened his mouth to say it.

_King Mickey…_

* * *

Sora slowly opened his eyes as flashes of what must have been some other time disappeared from his mind, and became no more than fragments of a dream. He frowned and blinked, shifting on whatever he was laying on.

It was very soft. He turned his head to the side and realized he was in a lavishly decorated room, on a very comfortable and warm bed. He blinked again and lifted his arms to rub his eyes, wincing as he did so. They felt as if he'd been weight lifting for hours.

"Mm, Sora." Yawned a sleepy voice right beside him. Sora turned to look and relaxed. Riku was watching at him, his arms crossed on the bed and his head resting on his arm, looking as if he'd just awakened. He yawned again and pawed at one of his green eyes. "You've been out for almost a week."

Sora could only blink in surprised silence for a moment before he yelped and flung himself into a sitting position. Pain shot up and down his body, and he winced and wrapped his arms around himself. "Oooww…"

"You idiot, you're going to hurt yourself doing stuff like that!" Riku chided as he moved his chair nearer to Sora. "We used a lot of energy, so you'll be aching all over. I was too, when I woke up."

Sora sighed as the pain retreated and became nothing but a dull ache in his muscles, like they did when he ran too long too hard. "Where are we?"

"King Xemnas palace." Riku said, his eyes ghosting over the walls. "I woke up a few hours ago. Cloud said that Xemnas will be here tomorrow to explain things to us."

Sora nodded content to lean back on the soft pillows and breathe in comfort. He turned and smiled at Riku, really looking at him for the first time since his eyes had opened. The first thing he noticed wasn't the small smile on Riku's face, but how he was wearing a totally sleeveless shirt that showed off his arms.

And his markings were gone.

"The marks are-"

"Yeah," Riku grinned at him, the biggest smile he'd shown ever since his memories came back. "My arms feel so much lighter without them… it's as if they were a weight…" He stretched one arm in front of him, looking at its paleness, unhindered by any black swirls.

Sora looked at Riku and grinned. He pushed himself up again and grabbed Riku around the shoulders, nearly making the both of them fall to the floor. "I'm so glad Riku!"

"Wh-whoa!" Was all Riku could say as he caught himself on the floor. Sora laughed in his ear, and Riku could only smile and hug him back. "Thanks Sora…"

"Those things caused you so much pain…" Sora said, burying his face into Riku's shoulder. "I can't imagine how good you must feel."

Riku smiled again and tightened his hold on Sora. "It's all over now Sora… we won…"

Sora pulled back and looked at Riku in awe. "We did?"

The silver-haired teen nodded, and then braced himself as Sora threw himself at him again. He was laughing, and his happiness made Riku break out into a grin of his own. "The Army's dead. I can't tell you what it feels like…"

"Like a huge enormous weight is gone?" Sora suggested, and looked at Riku again. Riku blinked at him, and Sora's grin seemed to break his face. "I feel it too…"

Riku couldn't seem to stop smiling. He laughed and pulled Sora out of the bed, laughing again when the little brunet yelped and slid out of the warm covers.

"Ah, it's cold out here Riku!" He whined, wrapping his arms around Riku's back and cuddling up against him. Riku snickered and hugged him again.

"Just be glad it isn't water."

"Ahh, Riku you're mean!"

"What's this I hear? Merriment?" Kadaj's voice said, and he appeared behind the door. Riku turned to smirk at him, never relinquishing his hold on Sora.

"So what?" Riku grunted, hauling Sora even closer. The brunet protested for only a moment, before succumbing to Riku's touch and leaning against him, blushing. Kadaj just grinned and stepped into the room.

"Someone's here to say hello."

And after him two people walked in, one of them in a full-arm cast. Sora lit up like a light.

"Axel, Roxas!" He cried, and tried to stand up, but found that his legs were totally useless. He pouted at them as their friends came over, laughing.

"Yeah, a week of bed rest will do that to you." Axel said, grinning. Sora scowled at him.

"Riku's been asleep too, how come he's not weak?" He asked indignantly. Axel snickered again.

"That's because Riku's a stubborn ass. Noticed he hasn't been able to stand either?"

Sora blinked and looked at Riku, who pouted and looked away. "So what?" The green eyed teen said with a sniff. "I could still get here."

"Yes, and scare Zexion shitless too." Kadaj shook his head. "He thought you were kidnapped."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "He's been unbearable," he said, rubbing his shoulder. "It's like the mother hen in him decided to take steroids."

Sora laughed, and then shook his head. He nodded at Roxas's arm, a concerned glint in his eye. "How did that happen?"

Roxas looked at his arm and shrugged with the working one. "It's just broken. It'll heal in a few weeks. You don't have to worry about me."

Sora smiled and nodded, deciding to take Roxas's word for it. If he didn't want to talk about it, then Sora wouldn't push. "What are we doing here anyway?" Sora asked, looking around at the walls.

"Xemnas let us stay here until you woke up, so that he could talk to all of us. Tomorrow we can go home."

"Home huh?" Sora muttered, looking thoughtful. Riku's hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. He was looking at Sora with a particularly intent expression, as if he wanted to ask something, but not around so many people.

"Well, we better go tell Zexion that you guys are fine." Kadaj said, sensing that Riku wanted to say something. He motioned for Roxas and Axel to follow him. "Leon and Cloud are here too, and so is Yazoo and Loz. They'll want to come see you later." He nodded to them, waited for Axel and Roxas to go before him, and then walked out.

Sora waved them out, and then turned to Riku with wide eyes. Riku was looking down at the floor, messing with the bit of blanket that had fallen on the floor with Sora. Sora cocked his head, concerned. "Riku…?"

"Sora…" Riku sighed and looked up, locking his ocean-green gaze onto Sora's face. The brunet gulped gently. "I want you to come live with me."

Sora blinked for a moment, then the admission hit him. He cocked his head, something in his chest starting to shiver. "What…?"

"After this, I'm going to ask Zexion if I can have some money to build a house somewhere. Somewhere nice… like the mountains, where we can stand out on our back porch and just look down as everything. Neither of us really have a home to go to… and Zexion's office is nice but… it's just…"

"Not home." Sora finished for him. Riku nodded.

"I want to go to a place where we can just… be together. If only for a little while. We could use it for a getaway." He sighed. "I'm tired. I want to go somewhere where I know I can just be with you, where I can rest, until I can cope with… everything. I want to know what happened to you in the two years I was gone, and I want to tell you everything about me, more closely."

"Riku…" Sora whispered, biting his lip. Riku licked his lips and looked away.

"It'll be okay if… if you don't want to. I'd just… like to stay with you. I love you Sora." He looked up again.

Sora felt tears in his eyes as he hugged Riku tightly. "That sounds so wonderful Riku… but are you sure we can do that?"

Riku hugged him back. "I'll make sure we can. For once… I think we deserve to think only about us for once. I'll ask Zexion when he comes in today."

Sora nodded against Riku's shoulder. "I'd love to live with you Riku… Just you and me."

Riku smiled and released a breath in relief. "Thank you so much Sora…"

Sora laughed. "There's nothing to thank. I want to go with you."

Riku nodded against Sora's shoulder, and leaned back against the bed, hugging him close. He sat like that, running his hand through Sora's hair with a smile until the both of them fell asleep.

* * *

"That's Loz." Riku told Sora later that evening, when both of them had been awakened by the burly man. Sora nodded and held out a hand to shake with the other. Loz bent down and shook it with a smirk. He had green eyes and silver hair, just like the rest of Riku's family, only his hair was shorter. Riku had only ever met Loz once, so he was a little apprehensive as well.

"I'm glad you both are okay." Loz said, setting a tray of food on the floor for them. Neither of them could move, so he'd decided to take pity on them and not force them to eat at the table. "Kadaj seems to have taken a liking to you."

Riku snorted and stuffed a roll into his mouth. He was starving. "Loz, could you ask Zexion to come? I need to talk to him."

Loz nodded. "Kadaj and Yazoo will want to listen, I suppose. Am I allowed as well?"

Riku blinked. "Uh… sure."

Loz nodded and walked out the door. Riku swallowed the roll with some difficulty, and then shook his head. He felt Sora grip his hand and turned to smile at him.

"Just one more hurdle to jump over. But this time I'll help."

Riku smiled and nodded. He tried to eat more as he waited, looking around at the walls and naming portraits in his mind and taking in the detailed wallpaper. He wondered how big this place really was. He had only walked from his room to Sora's (or rather dragged himself) and they were beside each other.

The door opened and Riku steeled himself as Zexion came in. This was the first time he'd seen him since he woke up, and he suspected that Zexion had probably come to check up on him when he was sleeping.

Following behind him was Kadaj and Yazoo, and then Loz. Riku took a deep breath.

"Welcome to the world again, Riku." Zexion said, with a small smile. Riku blinked, surprised. He hadn't expected Zexion to look like this, as if he was resigned to something. "I have an idea of what you want to ask me."

Riku nodded, and held Sora's hand tighter. "I… I wanted to ask you if I could have some money to build a place for me and Sora to live."

Zexion sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "I remember seeing you for the first time." He said, catching Riku off guard again. "Right after the Army returned you to the only family you had left. You're eyes were totally empty, and you were afraid of everything. You didn't know what anything was.

"You were almost like a child. I'd never had a kid before. Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were older when they came to me, from a sister in law. She didn't want them, so I took them in. But you were different." Zexion looked up and caught Riku's eyes, a small smirk on his face. Riku found himself blushing. He must have been really dumb back then…

"It was strange. You would always hang on to me, because I was the only one you trusted. As we taught you more and more you grew more into yourself, or at least, more into the kind of person a teenager should be. After taking care of you for so long, I guess I couldn't help becoming attached to you." Zexion chuckled. "And when you asked to leave, I let you. I trusted you.

"And I was right. You found everything you wanted." He looked away and closed his eyes for a moment. Yazoo and Kadaj were both looking away, Yazoo's arms crossed and Kadaj's hands in his pockets. "You even managed to get yourself into a war."

Riku blinked and cursed himself. He was getting all soppy. Sora's hand tightened in his, and he leaned closer, and Riku let himself take the comfort.

"So, I'll give you this too." Zexion finally looked up. "You know that you will always have a place at the tower, with Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo and me."

"I know." Riku winced as his voice cracked. Zexion walked up to him and gripped his shoulder as he knelt in front of him.

"And I think you deserve it." He smirked. Riku managed a smirk back. "Now, how about one last dinner together? I'll be too busy for a while to eat with you guys again."

Riku nodded, smiling. "Alright."

Sora grinned at his side. "Can we have steak?"

* * *

Riku hugged Sora closer as they sat together on their bed. Zexion had helped them up on it the night before, and told them that Xemnas would be there early in the morning. Then they would begin preparations to leave, because Xemnas had a lot of appointments that day, and Zexion didn't want to intrude anymore than they had to.

Sora blinked and looked at the door to their room. Riku followed Sora's gaze towards Leon and Cloud as they came in, and smiled. The two of them hadn't come to visit them yesterday, probably because they'd been asleep most of the day.

"And the heroes awaken," Cloud said, smiling. Leon grunted from beside him, but Riku could tell he was happy. "Sleepyheads!"

Sora blushed and Riku rolled his eyes. "Is the king here yet?"

"Yup, he's just behind us, along with everyone else. Be patient, we were lucky he even decided to come talk to us. Not everyone gets to talk face-to-face with the king you know." Cloud looked back at Leon and smiled, "He wants to tell us about the war, and that keyblade."

Riku frowned. "How'd you know about that?"

Cloud shrugged. "Witnesses. And, computers can tell you a hell of a lot of things when you ask them the right way."

Riku eyed him and then decided it would pass. "Whatever…"

The door opened again, admitting all of the people that Riku and Sora had been in contact with. Roxas came in with Axel. Axel was smiling at him. Kadaj and Yazoo walked in, followed by Loz, who wore a faint smirk as he watched the two brothers argue. Zexion followed behind him, shaking his head, and then Cid walked in, talking to another silver-haired man that Riku didn't recognize. He turned to look at the both of them on the bed, his expression calm and cool, and Riku frowned. He looked a lot like the Army's boss.

"Well, that took shorter than I thought," Cloud mumbled, then closed his mouth and regarded the king—or who Riku guessed was the king—as he looked around at everyone.

"You may want to take a seat," He said, in a surprisingly deep voice, gesturing to the table on the other side of the room. "I have a lot to explain."

He waited patiently as everyone found themselves a seat. Once everyone was seated, the man nodded, and pulled up a chair for himself.

"As you may have guessed, I am King Xemnas." He said, nodding to Riku and Sora to show that he was introducing himself to them. "And I have explanations for you, as everything has finally come to an end. I suppose I'll start with the outcome of the battle." He gave a small smirk.

"The Army has been vanquished, thanks to the two of you." He gestured to Riku and Sora, who both blinked. "With the help of the keyblade, you managed to destroy Ansem, and in the blast that followed, the rest of his Army. I did not see the blast, but it was described as a white light that engulfed the ships, and when it was gone, there was only a single ship with any men on it. The police arrived shortly after that, and helped destroy the remaining men. After that, I sent my police forces into the cities that had rebelled, and eradicated the dying remains of the Army. We're currently setting up bases around these areas, and convincing the people who had been oppressed that we are nothing like Ansem's Army."

"You look a lot like Ansem," Riku had to say, and moved closer to Sora. Xemnas shook his head.

"We are of the same blood. He was a cousin of mine, I believe. I do not keep up with his relation to my line." He shrugged. "As the Organization had planned, everything is coming to a close. The Army still has grips on some places, but soon we will uproot them.

"Now, I suppose everyone will wish to know of this keyblade."

There was eager silence, and Xemnas continued. "The keyblade, I thought, was only a weapon of ancient legend. I had only heard of it because of my studies when I was younger. It was said to be an unbinder, to send things back to where they belong, and to help the light grow strong when darkness was overwhelming it. There is often, in the tale, the chosen one of the keyblade.

"I am not sure what made the keyblade decide to appear, but it is true, nonetheless. I believe that the energy in your bodies, the Mako running in your veins, gave you the power to summon the keyblade, since there is no true power like that in this world. But neither of you had power alone to keep it in existence. The both of you had to share your energy, so that they keyblade could manifest itself."

"So you're saying that, since there isn't the same kind of power in this world that summoned the keyblade in the past, it had to use the Mako in our bodies?" Riku asked, frowning. Xemnas nodded.

"I would call it magic, for lack of a better term." Xemnas chuckled. "Mako is probably the only 'magic' energy left in this world. Those born around it get great powers, and those infused with it get abilities too. Because both you and Sora were infused with Mako in a different way than others, it was dormant, until you needed it. Or rather, until the keyblade drew upon it to manifest itself."

"Sora was also infused with it?" Riku frowned and looked at Sora, who looked back, just as confused. Xemnas sighed.

"Before you met Sora, there are records that he agreed to 'tests' given by the Army on some of their cadets. After infusing you Riku, technology had become more advanced, and to infuse Sora with Mako all they had to do was send it into his bloodstream. They probably neglected to tell him what they were doing, so he never knew, since Mako infused that way does nothing to the appearance. _You_, Riku, were infused inside and out, in the markings as well as blood. The Army, or rather Ansem, was trying to call the keyblade into existence using this method."

Riku looked confused. "Is that why he was doing it?"

Xemnas nodded. "There were countless others before you. But, because they did not display the right levels of energy, they were either discarded or sent home with their memory destroyed. Like you, Riku." Xemnas met Riku's gaze for only a moment, before looking back at everyone. "Ansem was wrong in everything he did. Every person he infused could have summoned the keyblade with the power, but he gave them too little Mako. It was a good thing that he gave them less than needed, because the amount of the Mako that a single person would have needed to summon the keyblade would have poisoned the people infused with it."

"So Ansem was trying to get the right level of Mako in one person to have the magic power to summon the keyblade?" Riku asked, trying to piece things together. "And he couldn't, because the right level of Mako was too much for a normal person to hold without dying?"

Again, Xemnas nodded. "He had received a report saying that Sora was a candidate, that he had the power to summon the keyblade. When he went to Zexion's island, it was to kidnap Sora and use him as a forged keyblade bearer.

"But he was wrong. Something in Sora must have messed up the test, because he needed you Riku, to summon the keyblade. He didn't have the power on his own. The keyblade legend says that it chooses who wields it, so it may have just needed an extra boost to get to Sora." Xemnas shrugged. "That is still a mystery.

"Ansem wanted the keyblade, because the legend says that it is a powerful weapon, and can cause great destruction if used incorrectly. He wanted to destroy me, and the Army along with me. The keyblade would have given him the power, or so he believed.

"But you destroyed him with it, along with most of his best trained soldiers. You two saved the kingdom, in a way."

Riku and Sora exchanged glances with each other, and then looked at Xemnas. Riku sort of understood. It was a lot to chew on. "What about my markings?"

"The Mako in your body was burned off, as was Sora's. The keyblade used all of it to stay in existence."

A thought occurred to him. If they'd destroyed the army with the blast, they might have destroyed the Dreamers too, who had been fighting on the ships. "What about the Dreamers? Did we destroy them too?"

Xemnas shook his head. "They were untouched. It was strange, they said. Suddenly the white light came, and all of the soldiers vanished, leaving no one but the Dreamers. We received news of the keyblade from multiple Dreamer witnesses, and the leader was especially insistent. The Dreamers have always been rather superstitious, so they understood what the keyblade meant."

Riku nodded. Sora's hand clenched in his for a moment. "What happened to the men?"

"They were swallowed up by light, I believe." Xemnas looked thoughtful for a second. "It is my theory anyway. We won't have to deal with Ansem again."

Everyone asked a few more trivial questions, about how Xemnas was going to get rid of the Army's remnants. After that Xemnas stood and bowed to them.

"I give you my deepest thanks. It is because of you that we were able to win this war. I wish I could spare more time to speak with you, but we have a lot of wrongs to right." He gave them a small smile as he turned towards the doorway. "I have prepared airships to take you home. Your belongings are there, along with ways to contact me. If there is ever anything you would need, do not hesitate to ask." He bowed again, and was gone.

Everyone was talking again, and Riku turned to Sora, thoughtful. Sora smiled at him, and leaned up to give him a small kiss.

"I believe him."

Riku smiled and hugged him. "Me too. I'm ready to go home…"

Sora made a noise of agreement, and then turned to Leon and Cloud, to ask them if they could help them get to the airship. The older men agreed, and Leon picked on Riku the whole way there.

But for once, no one worried.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Me no… ::sniff:: One more chapter left::cries:: 


	28. Epilogue Always Know Where You Are

**Author's Notes: **It's over! It's finally over!

::cries and waves a flag at the same time::

This is the first story I have ever finished. Seriously! It persevered long after I thought it would die, and for that I am so happy!

I also had so many wonderful reviewers, and every word you guys wrote made me smile and want to continue this story. I owe you for keeping me going long enough to finish this! I want to especially thank the few reviewers who found me and stuck with me from the beginning of this story. You guys rock so much!

I know that this story has a lot of mistakes, and there are a billion stories that are fifty-million times better than this, but I'm proud of it for what it is. Maybe someday, when I have more time, I'll come back and fix up this funky ending, and fill in all those plot holes. This story was almost completely made up as I went along, and the only thing that I really had planned was those first few chapters. So it's easy to understand why this story felt a bit rocky. (Well, to me, anyway)

I wish there was a way for me to send a box of chocolates to every person who read this story, but that would probably leave me broke! For now, all I can give you is this final chapter/epilogue, and the one-shots that I owe people.

Next, I will work on Abacus! Though that one will take a long, long time to work on.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter! It's full of joy and fluff, but I hope you like it! Me being a sap for happy endings… heehee…

And finally, the winner of the last one-shot/picture request is **Riraku-san** (In my profile is a link to my DeviantArt, if you want to look) They got review number one-hundred and fifty ( ::Faints at the number:: ), so you get to request either a drawing from me, or a one-shot! I'm currently working on the one-shots I owe people already. If all goes well, I should have them finished within the next week.

Well, farewell, until next we meet!

* * *

**Epilogue**

Always Know Where You Are

* * *

Sora leaned back against the wall of Riku's room in Zexion's apartment and watched Riku fret in amusement. The silver-haired boy had been frantic all week long, getting on everyone's nerves. Sora found it rather endearing however, and couldn't help but grin at him whenever he went into a rant.

They were moving into their new house today. Zexion had convinced Riku to stay until he turned seventeen, when he could legally live alone according to the new laws. That was almost a year ago, and their house had only been finished last month. Riku was excited, but nervous at the same time.

Today was Riku's birthday, but he seemed to have forgotten that in the maelstrom of thoughts speeding through his head now. All of his things had been packed in the last three days, along with Sora's, and were all loaded onto the airship that Zexion had taught Riku to fly in his free time.

"Alright, Sora did you check the bathrooms?" Riku asked, taking a moment to stop and look at his lover. Sora smiled at him and nodded.

"And yes, I've checked all of them. Four times Riku."

Riku nodded absently and looked around the room. His hair had gotten a little longer, so that it almost his eyes completely, but Sora thought it looked nice still. He took abnormally good care of his hair.

"I think we have everything," Sora told him, stepping up and linking his arm through Riku's. Riku nodded and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Alright… I guess it's time to say goodbye then."

Sora nodded and helped Riku walk out of the room. "Everything will be fine."

"I know, I know." Riku sighed as he allowed himself to be pulled. "I just want to make sure we have everything."

"Even if we don't we can always get new things." Sora rolled his eyes and turned down the stairs. Kadaj was there, talking with Yazoo and Loz. The three of them looked up as they descended, and Kadaj grew a smirk.

"Our little Riku is all grown up!" He cried in mock sadness. "Moving out of the house and away from his family…"

Riku sneered at him. "Better than you Kadaj."

Kadaj took the comment in stride, and saluted the two as they passed. Then the three brothers fell into step behind Riku and Sora, snickering the whole way. Sora grinned, used to their antics after spending so much time with them. Loz was around more than before, and Sora liked him just as much as the other two. He was the most sane, but still just as insane as Kadaj and Yazoo.

Zexion had always been busy though, and he hadn't had much time to talk to anyone. Sora saw him when he could, but he understood that rebuilding a government could take a lot of time.

He'd heard over the months about his old friends, but most of them were just rumors from Kadaj, who could never be trusted with anything important. Apparently Axel and Roxas had taken positions in the police force, King Xemnas's army, and were assigned together in a small, Oceanside town. They'd written a few times, telling Sora that they were all fine and dandy, and explaining their daily adventures. Sora had loved reading their letters.

Cid had agreed to take Leon and Cloud under his wing, and with a person like Cloud working in the old weapons shop, business was a lot better than it ever had been before. Since there really wasn't a war to fight anymore, Cid had turned his talents on vehicles and appliances. Leon had written him not too long ago, explaining a few things and saying that he was once again a clerk, but he seemed content by the sound of it.

Sora was happy for all of them. They seemed to have carved themselves new niches in the world together, and he couldn't have been gladder. He and Riku had spent a while looking for the perfect location to build their house, and they had found it, on a mountain range a few miles away from a major city. The building of the house had taken a long time, and during the waiting period Riku had decided to stay with Zexion. Sora figured that that was the reason Zexion had been so lenient. He probably suspected that Riku would have to stay with him, at least for a little while.

Sora had to bite down on his irritation when Riku spun around and looked back up the stairs they'd just climbed down. "Wait, I think I forgot—"

"Riku we _have_ everything!" Sora said, gripped Riku's shoulders, turned him around, and marched him towards the door. "I had Kadaj and Yazoo check everything twice, and then _I_ checked, and they _you_ checked. Even if we do forget something, we could come back whenever we want!"

Riku mumbled to himself, but he allowed Sora to march him. Sora could only shake his head. The only other time Riku had been this antsy was Sora's first birthday with him in two years. He'd been determined to make everything perfectly, and though Kadaj destroyed the kitchen in an attempt to make birthday breakfast eggs, it was one of the best birthdays Sora could ever remember.

Sora let go of Riku's shoulders once he was sure they were far enough from Zexion's apartment that he wouldn't turn back (meaning the airship walkway) and sat next to him as Loz positioned himself in the pilots seat. Riku fidgeted as the ships engines started, and Sora could only smile and grip his hand.

"Don't be so anxious Riku. If anyone should be, it would be me!"

Riku mumbled something, and then gave Sora an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I just want to make sure everything goes right."

Sora rolled his eyes and leaned over to kiss Riku on the cheek. "No matter how badly you think things will go, they usually turn out all right, don't they?"

Sora smirked as Riku was forced to nod. "So don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."

Heaving a great sigh, Riku finally managed to flop back in his seat and relax a bit as the airship lifted off and started in the direction of their new home. By airship, it would only take them an hour to fly from here to their new home. Zexion had added an airship hanger to Riku's house so that he could visit, and added the airship with it, without consulting Riku beforehand. Sora had enjoyed the ensuing fight, and could only smile when later Riku was grateful for the thoughtfulness.

* * *

Riku sighed and tried not to fidget as their airship landed outside their new home. He looked out the window and studied it. He and Sora had helped to design it together, and it was everything that he would have wished for. It wasn't large—about the normal size of a family house, and it was a single story. There was a wrap-around porch, and right next to it the airship landing pad. Behind them was the small single-ship hangar Zexion had forced on them, hidden in a copse of trees.

This was the place Riku had wanted to start his life over in. In truth he'd already started at Zexion's, putting his past behind him. Here he knew he could finish it.

As they got off the ship, Riku followed Sora and looked around. They had already finished bringing their things inside a few hours ago, and then they'd gone back to Zexion's tower to make sure that they had everything, on his assistance. He knew he was being a bit of a nag, but he couldn't help it really. He was going to finally live alone with Sora!

As he approached the house, Riku got a strange feeling, as if he was being watched. He looked at Sora, who was in front of him, but he wasn't looking at him. He turned to look back at his cousins, but they were looking at the scenery and snickering to each other, like they always were. He shrugged it off as being paranoid.

When Sora opened the door to the house, he stepped aside and smiled at Riku so that he could pass. "Welcome home, Riku."

He smiled at Sora and stepped passed him, over the threshold, and into the entrance hall of his new home.

It was dark, and he could see the boxes they'd moved in earlier as little squares in the gloom. He took another step inside, looking around at the walls and taking everything in, probably for the hundredth time.

Light suddenly flooded the house, and he was grabbed up into a headlock, a very familiar voice laughing into his ear. He gasped as a hand ruffled his hair.

"Hey, my silver-haired friend!" Axel crowed, grinning down at him when Riku managed to crane his head back to look at him. "Welcome home! And happy seventeenth birthday!"

Laughter came out from the walls, and people Riku hadn't seen in almost a year walked out, from behind boxes and walls, all grinning (except for Leon, who smirked). Roxas smiled and waved, coming to stand next to Sora, while Leon, Cloud, Cid, and even Tifa clapped for him. Kadaj Yazoo and Loz slipped through the door, all grinning like the smug idiots Riku knew they were. Axel let him go with one more hair tussle, so Riku could look around at everyone in surprise.

"I thought you guys said you were busy," He blinked. He'd invited them over to let them see his new house a few weeks ago, but everyone had written back and told him they had other plans.

"Well, we decided we weren't so busy after all." Cloud grinned. "Sora got to us first."

"And how could we give up the chance to see you're face like that?" Axel grinned, pointing at him. Riku shook the surprise off his face, and couldn't help but grin at everyone. Sora laughed as he closed the door and came up by his side, taking his hand.

"And since you seemed to have forgotten that you're turning seventeen, we took the liberty of making you a cake!"

"And dinner!" Cloud quipped.

"Oh, we made sure Kadaj didn't go anywhere near the appliances."

Everyone laughed at that, and led Riku into the kitchen, talking and smiling. Riku could only smile and listen and talk. There was no way to express his gratitude to them, except to have fun. He truly had missed his friends, and even though they all led different lives now, it made him happy to know that they wouldn't forget him, as he'd forgotten so much in his life.

* * *

Leon, Cloud, Cid, and Tifa had to leave before the sun set. They had a shop to take care of, after all, and they'd left in the middle of working to come visit. Cid had hidden the Sierra in the airship hangar, and after a long list of farewells, left to their sandy village.

Roxas, Axel, and Riku's cousins stayed longer, since they had the time. They talked and joked together until midnight, when Kadaj said that Zexion had wanted them home. They gave Axel and Roxas a ride back to the city they'd been stationed at, using the airship they'd flown here.

It was abruptly quiet in the house when they were gone. During the day their friends had helped them set up some of the furniture, including the bed and things for their bedroom, but a lot of things had yet to be unpacked (or unwrapped, as Zexion had sent them new furniture to furnish their house with) and the house felt a little empty without the screams and laughs.

As Riku stood and looked around the living room, he found himself thinking about everything he'd gone through, from loosing his parents, to the testing, and then to finding Sora and fighting in a battle that became a war for reconstruction.

He probably wouldn't have been able to get through all of that if he had never met Sora. The thought of Sora had kept him alive in the labs, and burned hope into him when he'd forgotten everything. Sora was the reason he'd hung on to his life for so long.

A hand slipped into his and he turned to smile down at Sora as his lover leaned against him. He looked up at Riku and smiled, his blue eyes almost glowing in the darkness.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" He asked lightly, swinging their clasped hands.

Riku smiled at him and unlinked their fingers to pull him against his side. "Everything."

"Mm." Sora mumbled with a small smile. "Me too."

Riku opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a huge yawn. Sora grinned at him. "Sleepy?"

"A little." Riku smirked. Sora smiled at him, then turned him so that he could grip both of his hands.

"Everyone gave you gifts, right?" He said, drawing circles onto the palms of Riku's hands with his fingers.

"Just little things." He said, following the movements of Sora's fingers.

"I haven't yet," Sora looked up at him and smiled, but was a different kind a smile than the ones he usually showed. A slow smirk spread on Riku's face as he recognized it.

"I think I'll like yours best," He purred, turning Sora's hands over and gently massaging them. Sora giggled.

"Mm, maybe."

Riku let Sora pull him down the dark hallway toward their new bedroom, where he'd put his old bed from Zexion's place. They were considering a new one, but Riku had always like that bed. It was special to him, in a way.

But he didn't think about that as he closed the door to their room and kissed his lover gently, pulling him close. For now, he didn't have to think about anything.

**End.**

_It's good to see the sun and feel this place  
This place I never thought would feel like home  
And I ran forever, far away and I  
I always thought I'd end up here alone  
Somehow the world has changed and I've come home  
To give you back the things they took from you  
And I feel you now I'm not alone I'll always know where you are  
When I see myself I'll always know where you are, where you are  
And I found something that was always there  
Sometimes it's got to hurt before you feel  
But now I'm strong and I won't kneel  
Except to thank who's watching over me  
Somehow I feel so strong and I've begun to be the one I never thought I'd be  
And I feel you now I'm not alone I'll always know where you are  
When I see myself I'll always know where you are, where you are  
Now, it's all so clear and I believe that everything's been opened up to me  
And I feel you now I'm not alone  
I always know, I always know where you are  
When I see myself I'll always know where you are  
When I feel the sun I'll always know where you are  
When I see myself I'll always know where you are  
Where you are_

_**Always Know Where You Are – BB Mak**_


End file.
